Heart health & anxiety

If it was me. I would send my Doctor a message. He or she is the one to ask. They have your test results. So they are the ones to ask.
Wish you the best.

I can definitely relate. I have a CAC score in the 98th percentile and run/cycle and lift weights regularly. I don't know much about angina, though. I get various pains similar to yours when I work out and it always bothers me knowing I have some atherosclerosis in my coronary arteries. I don't know how to decide when it's time to get checked out. Everything you see online says that if you are concerned, it's better to be safe than sorry.

For myself, I've watched a lot of videos about people describing their heart attacks to try to know what to look for. I've also watched videos of doctors describing when it is likely/less likely to be a heart attack. It seems to me that the discomfort is significant and there often is more than just pain (sweating, out of breath, ...). I gather if it gets worse with exertion, then that's a troubling sign. But that is very subjective. Again for myself, if it's transient, less than a minute or two say, or not severe, I ignore it. A few times I got worried while running because it was more severe than usual and seemed to get worse with exertion, but I just stopped and walked and paid close attention, and decided it wasn't serious. I'm still here. 🙂 But I don't know how one can know.

On the plus side, I believe a LAD score of 7 is on the low side. Sounds like your doctor is on top of it.

It’s a very scary thing to contemplate your heart failing. The weird thing is that I can do the stair test (4 flights in under a minute) without chest pain. So I don’t know if it’s between my ears…I did leave a message for my doctor. Thank you for those who share their experience here. It’s helpful.

Yes, living with heart valve disease or any heart disease is very stressful. Keeping my mind busy with card games and socializing etc can be a big help. Any suggestions?

How long ago was your diagnosis, @myhearthealth24 ? I was diagnosed about a year ago when I thought I had been “doing everything right” and had low risk by my cholesterol numbers. I’m still not back to normal in that I feel unhealthy, prematurely old, and somewhat defeated based on the effort I had made to avoid disorders that the popular media leads us to believe are lifestyle controlled. I was trying to avoid the same problems my mother had (quadruple bypass at my age), high BP, diabetes, osteoporosis … and all signs are that I am headed down the same path but at perhaps a slightly slower rate.

I haven’t found a way to avoid the stress, I am hoping it will just fade with time. I’d say I am less obsessed than I was at first. This group helps. Hang in there!

I admit to being addicted to Royal Match!

I was diagnosed with atherosclerosis when I got a CAC Score of 256 six years ago. At first, I was hit with a wave of anxiety, which lasted a long time, but I have gradually been able to manage the anxiety pretty well and have told myself that I am doing everything I can to reduce the chances of a cardiac or brain event (American Heart Association's 'Essential Eight' lifestyle guidelines). This year, because I have been experiencing shortness of breath at rest, the cardiologist ordered a bunch of tests, including an echocardiogram, 14-day heart monitoring for atrial fibrillation, lung function tests, and a CT angiogram. I've completed and passed all of them so far, and will have the CT angiogram performed next week. I did have an enlarged left atrium, which the cardiologist said was probably "athlete's heart" related. The anxiety never goes away entirely, but I've developed stress management strategies that hold it at bay.

tim,

If you are symptomatic, I would have expected your cardiologist would insist on a catheterization?

You had stress test with echo?

Please keep in mind a lot of medication side-effects is anxiety

Driving myself a little crazy with increased anxiety. Getting a slight twinge while only on the treadmill but not when climbing stairs, fast walking outside, or strenuously lifting weights? I see my doctor on Tuesday and hopefully get some clarity.