Just read an article on "low value testing", tests that are run that produce no real medical benefit to the patient. Will your medical treatment be any different after the test? I wonder if that is happening to me where one test leads to many tests.
Don, Ive been following your posts and think you are VERY fortunate in your doctors care.. I am pretty informed about the heart, Fathers side of the family is a train wreck when it comes to it.
I so far avoided a lot of the issues. Im the only one without a quad bypass, only one without diabetes, only one that has not had a heart attack ( as least that we know of) and only one with less than 20% of my hearts veins clogged, no stents. However, as explained, there is genetics and I do have an issue.
In the last few years some nagging issues have come up, uncomfortable sensations in my chest. Ive been through a couple nuclear stress tests, which last year lead to "the gold standard" and that was a heart cauterization. I was thrilled about that, a stress test will only show clogs in your hearts viens once they get up to around 60 to 70 clogged. I learned my veins are in great shape only up to 20% because of the Cauterization procedure. I felt VERY lucky to have been able to get the procedure.
However again, the nagging issue of these sensations, which for year my regular primary doctor discounted because my ECGs (aka EKG) were always good, HOWEVER when you get an ECG its only taking a snap shot of your heart for those 15 seconds that its hooked up to your chest, there is NO way to know if anything is happening during the day or night other than those 15 seconds.
Ok, so look at it this way, your doctors =
Your heart has two systems, just like a car engine.
There is the plumbing system veins, valves ect much like a cars fuel system
Then there is the electrical system (nerves) the electrical system of your body sends a signal to the heart for it to beat. Much like a spark plug sends an electrical pulse to the spark plug.
If either one of these systems fail, just like a car engine, your heart stops beating. Some, including myself don't realize how important the electrical system is, the only reason your heart beats is because of PRECISION timing for sending that signal to the heart.
Be thankful your Dr has you wired up for one week, he will have a clear idea if the signals to your heart are in rhythm or if anything dangerous is going on. I go to bed sometimes (even though I got used to it) wondering if I will wake up the next day.
If the signal one day stops, no warning, while you sleep, you don't wake up ever.
I have something going on with my signals. THANKS to APPLE for my Apple Watch and its ECG function.
This year again, I started getting these sensations, after last years cauterization I am taking a beta blocker as some PVCs did show up, but much of the population has them, some never know it. Then there is vary degrees and they can get intense. The Beta blocker took care of some of it.
Well, anyway, my Apple watch picked up some pretty funky things, I sent them to my cardiologist, two nights in a row recently I was getting some pretty heavy stress in my chest.
I actually messaged the Apple Watch ECGs to the Dr.
They set me up on a 48 hour monitor that I wore, I was THRILLED (I only wish it was for a week though)
In that 48 hours, finally, all my thoughts and feelings as well as my Apple Watch was confirmed and while I was being monitored for that 48 hours it wasn't as severe as the preceding days, (it comes and goes, sometimes for a month or two)
IN the 48 hours I had over 21,000 PVC's and even more concerning was one limited 8 beat VT (aka VTach) VT tach can lead to another issue and it results in sudden death.
Fortunately because of these results I just had my first Echogram.
SO good news is, the plumbing side of my heart is in great shape, my heart is in great shape too, considering my age also.
However its confirmed now something is going on with the electrical side and I now have an appt with a CardoElectrophysicist.
Again, up to 50% of the population has some misfiring of the heart but there are varying degrees and also different types. The VTACH is serious and it showed up after being monitored for only 48 hours, this could have been happening or happens for years and days, the only way to know if it is happening is being monitored.
I can't remember how you ended up with all these tests, if you were having symptoms or not or if this was part of a check up but if you were having symptoms I look for and want all the tests available to me to get to the bottom of it.
Trust me, if its not justified your ins most likely will not approve it.
I paid health ins my whole life, now that something isn't right, I want to be treated no different then the President of the United States.
I hope this helps and makes sense, kind of rushing as I am in a hotel room in Florida and getting ready to leave and go back home.
PS, I realized I posted much of this story before but had some new developments and just trying to help, kind of passionate about this subject.
Number 1 killer and a lot of it isn't caught in time.
