might need heart surgery

[rb26cory]

Hi this is cory_cnx i had to create a new username cause i lost my email.. Well i been good i changed doctors cause i got a new insurance with my job .. I been taking coreg 3. Something and i can here my heart pump faster but i been feeling tired lately also everyday i think im gonna have a heart attack .. Before i didnt have symtoms but now that i know every little thing i feel in my chest i think its something related to my heart . Im tired of thinking this way .. Everyday since i wake up i start thinking about having a heart attack my wife says that i think that way cause i google the whole day and sometimes google scares you .. This is the only forum that i read positive stuff and i thank you all .

 

[mbeard]

Dear rb26cory,

I haven't had the valve surgery yet, but it is in my future. I have some funky symptoms, such as extra beats, and chest pain. My BAV and aortic aneurysm (4.2- 4-5) is checked on every 6 months. I will be back in Houston in march.

Anyway, I worry every day but itry to take strength in the fact that this group of front line, educated, bd experienced people offer me sage advice. It keeps me straight. Listen to these people who have lived it.

Take care

 

[AZ Don]

Waiting is the hardest part. I was actually lucky in that the time from when I found out I had a problem to having surgery was less than 2 months. Still I know what you mean noticing everything. I would sometimes get brief palpitations and they were much more noticeable while I was waiting for surgery. From your earlier posts it sounds like your valve may need to be replaced at some point so you just have to keep going to the Dr. and the echo tests to monitor your condition until it's time. As said before the timeframe is probably at least months, not hours or days. Know that you have a problem that can be fixed. I was walking a mile a day 5 days after surgery and swimming 2 months later. It just wasn't as big a deal as it seemed it would be.

There are different perspectives on google. I think it is good to be informed about your condition, and I have done a lot of research now, but I have had no desire to watch the surgery on youtube as some others were mentioning in another recent thread.

 

[rb26cory]

I dont know maybe its the medication everyday i been feeling kind of dizzy and nauseas i read about syncope and i have never faint it in my life but since i read that i think im goin to faint now .. Lol its just worry me cause im a bus driver and i think im goin to put ither people in danger but like i said i never faint it in my life . But idk so much toughs in my head . Im berly 27 and i have 2 kids .. I been feeling depress somedays i feel with lots of energy and some days i feel really down .. Idk maybe i need to talk to a psychiatric or something .. Last month i tough i was having a heart attack cause i felt pain in my chest ( sharp pain) i pulled over and it was the seat belt making pressure against my badge lol i felt so dumb ..

 

[rb26cory]

I never had syntoms befor i just went to the dr 2 years a go cause i would get anxiety attacks my wife told me to tell the dr to do an ekg .. Thats when they found the left bundle branch block i think its because of the valve .. I was born with a heart mumur . I read somewhere that drs confused heart mumura with biscupid valve .. I remember when i was a kod the dr just told my mom that it will go away .. I guess not . Take care all of you and thank you for the positive comments .

 

[clay_from_nj]

Hey cory, just be careful of the effect on your job. I was driving semis when I learned (the hard way) that you can't drive commercial with an EF under 40%. The doctors refused to sign off on my medical card and it was career change time for me. Also, I think that 40% is the cutoff for SSI disability benefits, so you know that it's pretty bad. When I go back for follow-up this spring I'll press the cardiologist to give me some numbers so I can have some idea as to my recovery (besides just how I feel, which is great).

Also, I would seriously talk to another doctor: My grandfather recently moved out here to Colorado from New Jersey and one of the first things his new doctor did was to take him off digoxin, saying that it is old and outdated and newer drugs (beta blockers, for instance) do a much better job. With BAV, reduced EF (btw, that number will likely go up solely because of the medication, so don't be fooled that you're suddenly better or that it was wrong in the first place - my EF was as low as 15 untreated and into the 40s just from medication), symptoms such as tiredness and chest pains, I would make the doctor explain why you should not have surgery yet, and just how he would determine when the time is right. If you wait too long, there could be permanent damage to your heart that could have been prevented just by having the surgery sooner.

Also, syncope is common with coreg, but probably not with the low dose you're at now. Be aware of that if and when your cardiologist "titrates" your dose up. Very common (even with the low dose, and especially in combination with other blood pressure lowering drugs, like lisinopril) is positional vertigo, that is, squat down and stand up quickly and get dizzy.

This stuff can be scary, but the good news is that they can fix you up relatively easily and you can most probably look forward to a long and healthy life.

 

[rb26cory]

Thanks man ! Yeah last time i did an echo was at 45-50 . What do u mean a cut off for disability ? I havent ask for disability yet .. And in planning not to .. So u r saying that coreg may cause syncope ?

 

[rb26cory]

And im glad u r feeling great

 

[clay_from_nj]

Thanks man ! Yeah last time i did an echo was at 45-50 . What do u mean a cut off for disability ? I havent ask for disability yet .. And in planning not to .. So u r saying that coreg may cause syncope ?

Social Security disability has some specific criteria for various conditions to be considered as disabilities. For heart failure, in addition to being actually unable to work, one of the criteria is poor ejection fraction, (actually under 30%, I think. See here). I did look just to see what would be involved with a disability claim when I was at my worst and had to stop driving a truck and was therefore unemployed. Thankfully, I had a lot of experience with office work and got a job with the state unemployment office (how's that for irony?). I took the most expensive health insurance option and saved my vacation and sick time for a couple of years for the surgery.

As to the syncope, most definitely. I haven't had any fainting myself, but I frequently get the lightheaded, dizzy feeling when getting up quickly, and have had vertigo (spinning sensation) a couple of times.

 

[rb26cory]

Social Security disability has some specific criteria for various conditions to be considered as disabilities. For heart failure, in addition to being actually unable to work, one of the criteria is poor ejection fraction, (actually under 30%, I think. See here). I did look just to see what would be involved with a disability claim when I was at my worst and had to stop driving a truck and was therefore unemployed. Thankfully, I had a lot of experience with office work and got a job with the state unemployment office (how's that for irony?). I took the most expensive health insurance option and saved my vacation and sick time for a couple of years for the surgery.

As to the syncope, most definitely. I haven't had any fainting myself, but I frequently get the lightheaded, dizzy feeling when getting up quickly, and have had vertigo (spinning sensation) a couple of times.

. I havent faint yet and i hope i never faint .. Thanks for your fast response .. I cant believe theres people with 15 ef and i tough mine was the worse .. I have an appoinment with new dr next week but i think he is the one that has to refer me to new cardiologist(change insurance) i hope this one gives me good news .. Well i know im getting sirgury in the future i just hope not right now ..

 

[rb26cory]

I just hate this feeling and thibking about having a heart attack everyday .. I know its all in my mind but i dont know ...

 

[rb26cory]

I have an appoinment with a new cardiologist tomorrow .. I got kaiser insurance through my job .. I been having palpitation lately .. My wife was a medical assistant and she has the thing to listen to heart .. I been listening to my heart and i notice my heart skips a beat like it restarts and i get a feeling onmy throat with the urge of cough once ..

 

[MrsBray]

I'm a bus driver, too! I know how you're feeling. Take care of yourself, get informed, talk to your doctor. DO NOT READ WEBMD OR WIKIPEDIA! (You'll scare yourself half to death - or at least, that's what I did.) Eat healthy, get plenty of rest, do what your doctor tells you. You are not alone!

 

[rb26cory]

I saw the new cardyologist today ..
He told me how come the dr prescribed me digoxin . He told me to stop taking digoxin and doble the dose of coreg . He schedule me to get a new echo .. So far i have
Cardomyopathy
Left bundle branch block
Aortic valve regurgitation .
New doctor thinks my valve leakage is not the one making the heart enlargement he said that the leakage its too mild .

 

[rb26cory]

I'm a bus driver, too! I know how you're feeling. Take care of yourself, get informed, talk to your doctor. DO NOT READ WEBMD OR WIKIPEDIA! (You'll scare yourself half to death - or at least, that's what I did.) Eat healthy, get plenty of rest, do what your doctor tells you. You are not alone!

Thanks man ! My wife says that i keep scaring my self searching on the internet .. This is the only forum that give me hope .. Thank you everybody .

 

[pellicle]

Hi

My wife says that i keep scaring my self s This is the only forum that give me hope .. Thank you everybody .

well you can stop scaring yourself. Heart valve surgery is perhaps the most successful medical treatment in the entire gamut of surgery.

Look at it this way, its just a valve in a pump in a type of hydraulic system.

Well studied and decades of research and experience. I had my first OHS at about 9 and have had three since 1973

have a little faith in science

 

[rb26cory]

Hi



well you can stop scaring yourself. Heart valve surgery is perhaps the most successful medical treatment in the entire gamut of surgery.

Look at it this way, its just a valve in a pump in a type of hydraulic system.

Well studied and decades of research and experience. I had my first OHS at about 9 and have had three since 1973

have a little faith in science

Thanks
What can cause cardiomyophaty if the valve is not leaking a lot?

 

[rb26cory]

Thanks
What can cause cardiomyophaty if the valve is not leaking a lot?

I did my first echo with kaiser .. The dr took more than an hr to do it the first time i did it with old dr he only took 20 mins to do it .. Well my ef is not a 42% my ejection fraction now is 55% with mild cardiomiopathy anf lbbb . dr says my valve leakeage is too mild to be causing the cardiomiopathy . Dr told me to stop taking digoxin and keep taking coreg and lisinopril.: im only 28 .