I'm scared, please help.

[Dita]

I've been fatigued and had some chest pain for the past 3 months. My pulse seems fairly high whenever I'm active, doing chores, just walking around the house, shoping etc. (105-125). It is normal at rest (75-95) My doctor found a heart murmer. I had another doctor mention a murmer 15 yrs ago but normal echo. No doctor has heard one since. I just had an echo with EF 65%, trace aortic insufficiency, trace/mild regurgitation in mitral valve, and mild regurgitation in tricuspid valve. After reading about heart valve disease I'm scared to death. I cant imagine having open heart surgery. I have a lung disease that has left scarring etc. but is now inactive. I don't think pulmonary hypertension is present. No fluid retention, normal heart size, no SOB. I see my pulmonoligist and cardiologist tomorrow. I have such anxiety over what they may say. Any advice? Should I be this worried? Is it just panic & de-conditioning? (I gained 40 pounds recently and stoped exercising. I've lost back 13, but I'm terrified to exercise because of my heart pain, high pulse etc. Please help.

 

[Yaps]

Welcome.
I am not a dr , but I do not think you are in danger at the moment. May be anxiety as to what you have heard. Take some deep breaths.
Fear is a normal reaction to what you have, and many will be answering and helping you.
You are not alone when you are here,ok? I will leave now as Im sure many will respond, but calm down,please? love the pup

 

[Barry]

Well, clearly you gotta talk to your doc about what's going on and what's to be done, but let me speak to your worst-case scenario worry: Open heart surgery for valve replacement.

Been there, done that. Got the good old-fashioned split-'em-open like a chicken procedure. While I don't exactly look back on the few weeks following surgery as the good old days, your post verifies what's a common observation by folks who've had valve replacement: That the pre-op anticipation and worry is far worse than the operation itself or the post-op period. Those are much easier to deal with than what you're going through now.

BTW, I don't have much of a scar from the procedure. If it weren't for the fact that the scar doesn't tan, it actually wouldn't be that easy to spot.

Regardign the operation itself, I've come to be astonished at what I can bravely endure when unconscious. Dealing with the operation itself really isn't an issue.

Post-op pain is an issue, but if we remembered pain, nobody would ever give birth to a second child. Of course, if men became pregnant abortion would be a sacrament and we'd have become extinct long ago, but that's a different story... Anyway, the immediate post-op period really is a drag, no getting around that, but it passes and you really don't recall it much. While we speak of "painful memories", the pain has passed, the memory isn't painful at all - there's really no memory of the pain other than recollecting that it did occur.

Point being that when I say that the worst part is the part you're going through right now, I'm speaking the truth.

 

[Mary]

Dita,
Your EF sounds good, your valves are showing little regurgitation, you have no SOB, echo is normal, no audible murmur.
I assume you're seeing a cardiologist for the chest pain?
Have you had blood work to make sure you aren't anemic? Anemia will cause the heart rate to rise with minimal exertion.
If you have appointments with both a cardiologist and pulmonologist tomorrow, hopefully you will find some answers.
Your symptoms might have nothing to do with valve replacement so your fears of OHS would be for naught! Let's hope so!

 

[Superbob]

Be calm

Be calm

Dita,

No doubt some people will come along who are more medically expert than I and can respond to some of those numbers you gave. It's a good thing that you're seeing your specialists tomorrow. Doesn't sound like an immediate problem but definitely should be checked out.

Just try to be calm. Take some deep breaths, listen to some relaxing music.
If it turns out you do need to be monitored with likelihood of eventual OHS, I can testify that I, too, was scared initially at the prospect, but as the day approached I became calmer. The encouragement of so many people here helped too. I am past three months post-op and doing fine -- exercising, working, doing spring cleaning of our house.

Maybe you won't even have to have the surgery. But if you do, do your research, find an excellent surgeon and hospital -- and all will be fine. The folks here will be with you all the way. Welcome to vr.com

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Nancy]

Many people have trace regurgitation, and usually mild regurg. is just a watching kind of thing. Any chest pain should be checked out, and because you have a murmur the heartrate should be checked out as well. I bet they'll have you do something like a heart monitor to check out the fast heartrate and maybe do a stress test and then keep you on a regular cardiologist schedule. They might also test you for fluid retention because of your recent weight gain.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that it's just something that will bring you into the cardiologist's office every once in a while.

Best wishes, and let us know how it goes.

 

[T-Money]

Sounds to me like the docs. are not that overwhelmed by all of this. If they thought you needed surgery pronto, they would have told you. The ejection fraction looks pretty good relative to what the docs. told me was a surgical range. One thing that I learned was that fear and worry can send you to the emergency room (ala panic attack) as easily as anything else. I was scared to death when I learned I needed to have aortic valve replacement, but I hadn't found this site at the time. Just listen to the docs. If they tell you that you need surgery in the future, you have lots of experience to draw on and you will not be alone. Just take it one step at a time. Keep us informed and you will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[tobagotwo]

First, relax...

If what you've related is accurate, you're not anywhere in the queue for valve surgery. Of course you'll want to check with your cardiologist to be sure, but from a nonprofessional viewpoint, you don't exhibit the concerning issues that would portend heart valve surgery any time in the reasonably near future.

Trace regurgitation (also called insufficiency) is common in valves, and comes and goes, even in normal hearts. Mild regurgitation is not a signal to operate on the valves, and they actually have to get quite bad before the doctors will even consider surgery. These trace-to-mild insufficiencies may make enough noise to have been the murmur your doctor heard. It seems unlikely at first glance that these valve noises are a result of your inactive lung disease, as the pulmonary valve is the one that's not showing anything unusual, although the lung issue would normally be the first suspect.

Obviously, you are concerned that something is not right, though.

...I just had an echo with EF 65%, trace aortic insufficiency, trace/mild regurgitation in mitral valve, and mild regurgitation in tricuspid valve...No fluid retention, normal heart size, no SOB...

Your ejection fraction is within, but at the top of the normal range, which can indicate some heart enlargement. Your post says your heart size is in the normal size range. However, it is possible for your heart to have enlarged within that normal range. If it were so, it would perhaps be in the atriums (the top of the heart), based on the slightly greater leakage from the mitral and tricuspid valves. (That's basically what regurgitation and insufficiency speak to: leakage at the valve, in this case, minor.)

Presupposing you were born with no unusual heart structures, a couple of the things that could be causative factors would be atrial fibrillation or a similar atrial arrhythmia, or a past (or even current) infection of the heart, known as endocarditis. If your cardiologist decides to check you for arrhythmias, you might be asked to hear a Holter monitor overnight. He might want your blood cultured by a lab if he considers low-grade endocarditis a possibility.

There is no question that sudden weight gain will cause fatigue, and if you have any narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, it will aggravate chest pain. The extra weight you described would tax the heart in exactly the same way that carrrying a 40-lb. suitcase would. That's not intended as a wisecrack: I'm not entirely svelte myself.

Your cardiologist should definitely check you for any coronary artery narrowing, based on the chest pain you described. He might want to do a stress test, an MRA (an MRI that illuminates the arteries), or even a catheterization (angiogram). Most likely, he will settle for an exercise stress test, although I personally dispute their reliability for diagnosing arterial blockage.

There is also the possibility that the chest pain is a holdover from your inactive lung disease, and was just made more noticeable by the fatigue and concern. One of the difficulties we all encounter is determining which of the symptoms we note on ourselves are really symptoms, and of those, which are actually related to the health problem we're concerned about.

Best wishes,

 

[Big-Chuck]

scared

scared

yeah, to be honest I was scared at first too but the biggest thing that helped me get over the fear was when I listened to what the doctors had to say and then started my own research on the internet. Then I went looking for support and found this fantastic place. My fear is gone and my surgery is soon. I know I will be ok because I am in God's capable hands and those of the surgeons He selected for me.

 

[Dita]

Wow, you guys/ladies are great! Thank you for all the responses! I feel better and am not so worried about what I will hear tomorrow. This is a great place. I am so glad I found you all. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.

Bless you all!

 

[hensylee]

how pretty you are.

After reading all of the above, it would calm me, too. Please come back in to let us know what the doctors said. If, indeed, anything is in store surgery-wise for you, and we hope it isn't, this is the best place to be for preparation. Welcome to VR.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I second the comments from Nancy.

Note the following heirarchy of Medical Modifiers and that TRACE is NEXT to NOTHING.

NO / NONE
Trace
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Critical

Your symptoms DO raise some flags and you will probably need some more testing to find the Root Cause but it would appear that your Valves are OK for now.

A stress test (treadmill / monitor) would seem to be in order to see if there might be other heart related origins to your chest pain and to get a better understanding of your elevated Heart Rate with exertion. Heart Rate / Rhythm issues can often be controlled by medication.

I hope your doctors are able to identify and treat the causes of your symptoms.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Barry]

Just noticed where you live. If you can handle living in Henderson, even if it comes to valve-replacement surgury that should be a cinch compared to living in Henderson. I think of Henderson as Los Angeles without the charm, but with the heat of Phoenix.

Anyway, what they said: Basicly, don't get ahead of yourself. You need a lot more info, things likely are not as bad as you fear, and as I said in my original post even if things are as bad as you fear the anticipation is far worse than the reality.