Glad to hear you went to the ER. I'm surprised they didn't do an echo study. All of your symptoms remind me of how I felt a little over a year ago when my old valve was severely narrow and calcified. Take it easy between now and June 19th. Don't do things that cause chest pain or shortness of breath. An echocardiogram should tell your cardiologist everything they need to know about the valve.
Heartbeat while lying down on left side
- Thread starter rareed
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Apparently they called my cardiologist's office and another cardiologist that was on call looked at my files and told them to do the CT. I always thought CT's were superior to echo's but is that not the case for valvular disorders?
My old valve made a lot more noise than the new mechanical one does.
I'm not a medical professional (but I have been poked, prodded and examined by dozens of them over the years). As I understand it, the CT scan is a highly-detailed series of X-ray images that are assembled by a computer to create a very detailed 3-D picture of your innards. It's a good tool for detecting lots of things. The echocardiogram uses sound waves, produces less-detailed images, but can be used to create a moving image of your heart including a color-coded movie showing the volume and direction of blood flow through your heart and through the valves. The echo study will show if your valve has become narrowed and blood-flow is restricted.
Gotcha! Well I will have to see what my cardiologist says. Still feeling some chest pain but not as bad. It's this weird burning sensation. I can also feel my heartbeating in my chest also just while sitting. The ER doctor said it was probably just heartburn :thumbd:
T in YVR
Well-known member
For my AV regurg issue, in very broad terms the Cardiologist laid it out sort of like this in terms of what tests are best when analyzing different aspects of the issue:
Echo - Heart size, EF, valvular images etc
TEE - Degree of regurg and leakage from the AV
CT - Aneurysms, dissection in the aorta
I'm sure this is a bit of a simplification, but in general terms, the tests all have their areas of strengths.
Tony
Echo - Heart size, EF, valvular images etc
TEE - Degree of regurg and leakage from the AV
CT - Aneurysms, dissection in the aorta
I'm sure this is a bit of a simplification, but in general terms, the tests all have their areas of strengths.
Tony
Why the thumbs down rareed?
My guess is that your cardio told the ER to do a CT scan to check your ascending aorta. It is the "gold standard" in diagnostics for imaging the aorta. Since you have had an aortic aneurysm in the past they probably wanted to rule that out first and foremost as the cause of your chest pain.
I can understand that they did the CT to possibly check for another aneurysm but I feel as if they should have done an echo also to check my valve. I guess the thumbs down is mainly because I don't honestly believe it is heartburn. It's continued for 4 days now. It gets better with rest and starts to kick up whenever I'm active. Like I said, I am going to still see my cardiologist and see what she has to say.
After I was told I had to have surgery, I kept getting bad heartburn. I went in to see the cardio and mentioned it and he said that heartburn was not caused by my aortic stenosis, but could be caused by my mental state. He was right. When I chose the surgeon and set the date, the heartburn went away.
rareed, I felt my heart beat all the time before my AVR. I figured if it was beating I was alive. Had my AVR on May 23rd and now I feel my heart beat even more. I don't hear a click click like a lot of others but I can feel it beating. It is ok with me because if it is beating I am alive. Sometimes no matter what tests they do of your heart they can't tell till they actually get in and see how bad things are. Hope all goes well for you.
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In the waiting room 10 years. AVR (discovered I had a bicuspid valve) with On-x 21mm, May 23, 2013 at Swedish Hospital, Cherry Hill Location, Seattle, Wa. Dr. Glenn Barnhart.
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In the waiting room 10 years. AVR (discovered I had a bicuspid valve) with On-x 21mm, May 23, 2013 at Swedish Hospital, Cherry Hill Location, Seattle, Wa. Dr. Glenn Barnhart.
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
Tom makes a good point here. Frequently I see people here describing being anxious or agitated, yet when it is suggested that this or that may be psychosomatic they reject it.
The mind is very powerful, it can be an agent for expediating recovery or exasperating it.
Positive outlook, watch or listen to comedy (I like Monty Python albums myself). Don't laugh while your sternum is healing
The mind is very powerful, it can be an agent for expediating recovery or exasperating it.
Positive outlook, watch or listen to comedy (I like Monty Python albums myself). Don't laugh while your sternum is healing
Maybe it is all in my head, who knows! I'm not scheduled for surgery (I've had it previously when I was 19 for an aortic aneurysm), I'm only going to my cardiologist on a yearly basis to keep track of my aortic regurgitation and stenosis (echo and CT alternating years). The chest pain has subsided and it's mostly a discomfort type of feeling at times. Lately I've resorted to sleeping on my back as laying on both my right and left sides produces a heartbeat that keeps me awake. I'm sure I'm fine though and have nothing to worry about!
Another source of chronic heartburn for me was allergies. I never had them when young but developed them as I got older.
It was pretty bad. A post nasal drip at night could lead to a real bad stomach in the morning. It took awhile to find the right drugs, but an antihistamine once a day and some psuedoephedrine hydrochloride at night solved the problem.
It was pretty bad. A post nasal drip at night could lead to a real bad stomach in the morning. It took awhile to find the right drugs, but an antihistamine once a day and some psuedoephedrine hydrochloride at night solved the problem.
Went to my cardio yesterday - she said that it is definitely not my valve that is giving me problems as it looks great for a bicuspid. She put me on a 48 hour holter monitor to see if she can find any palpitations of sorts. She also suggested that I possibly see a rheumatologist for the possible chest pain and what not since BAV can be a connective tissue disorder. The only other thing she could think of was a possible coronary artery anomaly. She told me to text her in about 3 or 4 weeks and if its still occurring to do a CTA in order to better view the coronary arteries.
