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Suggest Treatment For Skipped Heart Beat And Chest Tightness
I had a tightness in my central chest that last about 15 mins. I have had similar when I feel stressed. Never after exertion or exercise. My doctor sent me for a tread mill stress test that showed ST segment change;Depression horizontal V3-5 at very high workload . My doctor has referred me to a cardiologist, who wants to do an angiogram. I don t get out of breathe easily, or have pain in arms or shoulders or jaw. Sometimes I get fluttering and skip of beat in my heart very now and again. My cholesterol is 6.6. Should my doctor have put me on medication last year when it was 5.5. I am worried about the invasive procedure.? I am now feeling sore in the solar plexus area as well.
Mon, 28 Sep 2015
Greetings! Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I understand your concern.
Your cardiac stress test came back positive, clearly. Although a highly sensitive to confirm or exclude coronary artery disease, it does not add help on specificity. Therefore, coronary angiogram is recommended in cases, such as yours, to further evaluate precisely where is(are) the blockage(s) and to construct the proper strategy to treat it(them). It is a procedure that can be carried out from the wrist artery (radial artery) or the groin artery (femoral artery) and is done under local anaesthesia. Having a positive cardiac stress test, lowers the significance of clinical symptoms. However, you also have clinical scenario of chest tightness, which sent you to undergo a cardiac stress test in the first place. About the cholesterol, the atherosclerotic plaques within the coronary arteries begin to form in early life and I do not think that treatment with a statin a year ago would make a huge difference, since the coronary atherosclerotic plaque probably was there even last year, but not as severe and obstructive to cause symptoms. Depending on various clinics and countries, various high borderline levels of cholesterol are in use. For example, in our clinic a cholesterol of 5.5 mmol/l is not considered high.
I wish I was helpful. Good luck with the procedure.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
Your cardiac stress test came back positive, clearly. Although a highly sensitive to confirm or exclude coronary artery disease, it does not add help on specificity. Therefore, coronary angiogram is recommended in cases, such as yours, to further evaluate precisely where is(are) the blockage(s) and to construct the proper strategy to treat it(them). It is a procedure that can be carried out from the wrist artery (radial artery) or the groin artery (femoral artery) and is done under local anaesthesia. Having a positive cardiac stress test, lowers the significance of clinical symptoms. However, you also have clinical scenario of chest tightness, which sent you to undergo a cardiac stress test in the first place. About the cholesterol, the atherosclerotic plaques within the coronary arteries begin to form in early life and I do not think that treatment with a statin a year ago would make a huge difference, since the coronary atherosclerotic plaque probably was there even last year, but not as severe and obstructive to cause symptoms. Depending on various clinics and countries, various high borderline levels of cholesterol are in use. For example, in our clinic a cholesterol of 5.5 mmol/l is not considered high.
I wish I was helpful. Good luck with the procedure.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
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