Angina and blood oxygen - Angina Message Board

revsteban · 01-15-2005, 11:03 AM

I feel like I have classic angina symptoms, and I'm also lucky enough to have an oximeter around the house. I was wondering, is it possible to still have angina even if my oxygen saturation levels are at an acceptable level?

Kitten1980 · 01-15-2005, 11:10 AM

If you just happen to have an oximeter, you probably know that there are many things that can cause angina, and that you should get your symptoms evaluated by a qualified medical professional

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Lenin · 01-15-2005, 11:10 AM

I'm not sure of what kind of oximeter you have (ear, finger, etc.) However unless it is able to measure the oxygen flow in the very smallest arteries of the heart (impossible, of course) it won't be of any use in diagnosing angina. These tiny arteries and the part of the heart that they feed are the only places in the body that will be oxygen starved in ischemic angina.

Revsteban, you will have to see a cardiologist and do a stress-scan as a minimum and then an angiogram if the scan shows evidence of blood and oxygen deprivation.

In the meantime, make sure you are taking an adult size aspirin or two each day.

Do you want to discuss your symptoms?

revsteban · 01-15-2005, 02:45 PM

thanks for the reply.

I would like to discuss my symptoms if that's ok with you, but before I say anything, just know that I realize that I should be seeing about 45 different specialists, and that yes, I am currently seeing about 45 specialists.

I just can't seem to sort out what is causing what, and apparently, neither can my doctors at the moment.

But let's focus on the chest pain/dizziness.

Diagnosis:
Marfan's syndrome. Heart Symptoms: I have an dialated aorta which is not yet large enough to worry about surgical replacement. Mitral Valve prolapse. I have a really loud heart murmur which apparently isn't dangerous in my case. Skeletal: scoliosis, I've had surgery, and 13 vertabre are fused. Pectus Exavatum: I have a really tiny chest, to put it medically. Unfortunately, it's not very fixable in my case. I've had 2 surgeries trying to fix that one, but something about my ribs just makes it too difficult. My doctor's have a hunch that there just isn't enough space for things like lung capacity and normal heart function and I have a hunch it's the reason why I can't eat large meals, but that's all speculation.

Random other annoyances: I'm mildly bipolar and am on mood stabilizers, specifically trileptal. it works really well for me, and I've been on it for a while without side effects. I'm also on dijoxin and kerlone for my heart. I've tolerated this cocktail well for a while. I should mention I'm somewhat of a hypocondriac when I worry too much and have had problems with panic attacks n general anxiety type stuff.

Those are the important things.

So my lung capacity is 30% of what it should be, and I'm on oxygen because of it. Hence the oximeter lying around the house. I've been doing well lately, I'm about to get my bachleor's degree, but I keep getting dizzy spells/chest pain. and to be honest, I really don't know for sure if it's all in my head or if it's something physical. but these spells make me very nervous and I've been to the ER a couple times, only to be told there's nothing wrong with me. my only indication that it might _not_ be anxiety is that anixety medication doesn't always make it go away. it feels like a tightness across my chest, and like I'm seconds from passing out, even though I never do.

I've compained about it before to various docs, but I'm to the point where I feel like I'm just as qualified as they are in figuring what's causing it, cause some of them don't even return my calls anymore. same old story as everyone else forced to look for answers on the internet I guess.

thoughts?

NineLives · 01-16-2005, 07:24 AM

My oxygen saturation level was always excellent even during an angina attack. Don't quote me on this but if I remember correctly it was 99%.