Latest echo question

[Cactus52]

Hey All

I had my 6 month echo yesterday and had a question about a reading. 6 months ago I had a Aortic opening of 1cm2 and mean/peak of 27/43. Yesterday I had a Aortic opening of 1.1 cm2 and mean/peak of 43/54. I couldn't get a answer from my doc so I was wondering if the opening hasn't changed what would cause the velocities to increase like that?

Also I had my LDL shoot up from 124 to 201 and was put on Crestor. Not liking the way this is going..............

Thanks
Scot

 

[carolinemc]

Should be talking to your cardio about this, sound like there is a little something to worry about. Your aortic opening is a little wider than last time and your LDL is up, which is not good. You need to ask your doctor of what else you can do to lower the bad LDL(if that is the problem). Good luck and ask your cardio questions and be proactive. Hugs for today.

 

[epstns]

Also bear in mind that echo's are not highly precise, nor are they known for consistency. There is a lot of room for subjectivity. Two different tech's using the same machine can get different readings, just as one tech using two different machines can get two different readings. Then add to it the variable of the doctor who reads/interprets the echo, and all bets of real consistency are off.

IMHO, echo's are good as a non-invasive diagnostic tool to identify or track gross changes, but when the differences are small, write it off as variability (or noise). Ask your doc if the difference is anything to worry about. Often it is not.