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Here’s the bottom line. My dad died after having his second heart attack at age 38. I’ve had issues ever since then. After having my second child at 25, I started having palpitations. I didn’t know what palpitations were at that time. I thought for sure I was going to die. I got to the point where I was able to live my life, but I was always too in tune with my heart. In 2005, I have an angiogram done, not because I needed too, but my doctor then thought it would be a good idea to put my mind at ease. And it did. I had no blockages at all.
Fast forward to 2017, after getting a CT Scan with contrast, I got a blood clot in my left arm. In 2018, after getting a CT Scan with contrast again, I got a blood clot in my right arm. All of my blood work came back normal for any blood clotting issues.
I seen a hematologist, and he figures the blood clots happened because of the contrast.
So, in 2020, my OCD Health Anxiety took over, mainly because of Covid existing, and being so scared of getting Covid. It’s been tough ever since.
I still have palpitations, and I seen a cardiologist about them, and he said they were normal.
This is turning out to be too long. Haha!
The main thing I am scared about is the medicine that they’ll inject to stress my heart. My cardiologist said I will probably feel some pressure in my chest, maybe shortness of breath, and I can’t remember what else he told me. I probably tuned out by then.
After getting the CAC Score back and it is quite high, I have felt a bit afraid of the
what ifs. But again, this is my life story. I’m really trying to stay positive about my experience and hopeful that all is well with my heart.
But, I forgot to mention that I am also worried about getting a blood clot again through this procedure.
So, that’s it.
Replies to "Here’s the bottom line. My dad died after having his second heart attack at age 38...."
They do not use dye in the stress test. They use a nuclear substance. I did not feel it at all. I opted for the treadmill instead of the shot. You just walk kind of fast on it until they get your heart rate to the number they need…based on your age. There is a chart for that. They did two scans. They first with no stress. The second after the trad mill. Each scan takes less than about 10 minutes. You have to wait 30 to 40 minutes after the iv injections for the scans. I believe that much less radiation is now used. I had the scan just three weeks ago! Nothing to fear. You can choose the treadmill if you fear the medicine. I chose it because I also have awful issues with medicines and I knew that once I got off the treadmill I could catch my breath. And I do have clotting issues that are genetic!
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There are two chemicals that I know of that are routinely used to stress the heart: isoproterenol and adenosine. Isoproterenol is used to stress the heart during operations intended to correct arrhythmias. It is a 'provoking' or a 'challenging' chemical meant to make the heart work hard and reveal an underlying arrhythmia. Isoproterenol is used before an arrhythmia patient is taken back out of the cath lab after the electrophysiologist figures he/she has finished the job. Instead, they inject some isoproterenol and see what happens. If the heart lurches back into an arrythmia, he/she knows they didn't find all the foci or reentrant areas for the extra timing signals. Back to work while you're still out and in front of them. Makes sense, right?
Adenosine slows the heart. I have had it injected once. The nurses were careful to prepare me for the sensation. It's awful....sorry....it's awful. If you are alert, and IF it is adenosine, the slowing puts you in a lot of stress in a weird way that makes you feel 'doom', a feeling of dread. It is thankfully fleeting, lasting about 10 seconds, and with the mental preparation you can just endure it knowing it will pass quickly...which is exactly what happened for me. But the chemical can reveal underlying cardiac function problems by making them slow down and show up on various monitors. It was how the attending internist saw that I was actually in flutter, and not in fibrillation. As I was feeling the heaviness and doom sensation, he pointed to the ECG display and said, 'See, it's flutter.'
This is the limit of my own experience and knowledge. You may have a different chemical at work, so this is just a fr'instance I'm offering. Also, I'm not a medical health worker of any kind and have no formal training in cardiology.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/nuclear-stress-test/about/pac-20385231