Question: I'm a 51 year old, white male with a history of somewhat high
cholesterol and triglycerides for which I've been treated for about 2 years with
Crestor and Tri;ipix and over the last 6 months added large doses of Niacin. My cholesterol has been at goal but triglycerides have been a little out of range, which is why we added Niacin.
Over the last several days, I've been experiencing brief periods of heart palpitations accompanied by feeling faint. I have not passed out, but a did feel like I might on one episode. Then, yesterday, I experienced a more brief episode, but this time I could see small
white spots - which came on very subtly - and another visually effect I can only describe as a crooked line in my
peripheral vision that seemed to strobe slowly.
My doctor has fitted me with a Holter (spelling?) heart monitor to look for any
arrhythmia over a 24-hour period and has scheduled me for a follow-up echo cardiogram (the last was in 2012, which didn't find anything) and a unltra-sound of my carotid arteries to look for signs of
blood clots. He said he is concerned that I may have been experiencing "mini strokes." And this series of tests could take upward of a week to perform and get the results back.
My question is this: if there is a risk of stroke due to blood clots traveling through my body to my brain, are we wasting valuable time doing this through my general practitioner? Is this XXXXXXX enough that I should be in an emergency room getting these tests done quickly with much faster results and answers?