Well todays visit to the cardiologist was interesting. Evidently the echocardiogram picked up some abnormalities in the motion of the heart wall. The doctor asked if I ever had a heart attack and I said no and least I don't think so...i'm sure I would have known, right?
He said it may be nothing but to be safe he is going to schedule something with nuclear medicine. I have to wait for the insurance approval.
Any ideas of what causes this?
Can stress cause it? I have been under alot. Someone even said depression can as well.
I will wait for some posts...thanks!!! Pat

pat,

No, you may not have been aware of it. Many people have heart attacks without knowing it. Think of all the times in your life you've felt chest pain and any one of them could have been a heart attack. One could even have a slight MI while asleep and not awaken.

But don't panic, echograms aren't definitive. The nuclear stress test will pinpoint any areas of your heart that are "dead" from an old heart attack. Perhaps nothing will show up...I'll guesstimate 50-50 odds:jester: :jester: .

Wow, I didn't realize that. Thanks for the info. I left the heart doctors office with many questions unanswered. I guess the nuclear stress test will be the determining factor.

Hi Pat,

The echo provides a visual display on the echo equipment's screen. The heart motion is seen in real time during each heart beat. The tech doing the echo pointed it out and I saw my wall motion impairment. This indicates almost always heart muscle muscle damage due to an insufficient supply of blood (ischemia) to the heart muscle and that can happen without pain or knowledge of an event (heart attack). Happen to me!

PART OF THE ECHO TEST IS TO MEASURE THE CARDIAC OUTPUT REFERRED TO MEDICALLY AS THE EFFICIENCY FRACTION (EF). IF THE WALL MOTION IMPAIRMENT IS SIGNIFICANT, THERE SHOULD BE AN EF LESS THAN NORMAL (75% TO 55).

Also an impaired wall motion will increase heart size to compensate for a less than normal output. AN ECHO MEASURES HEART SIZE. THERE MAY BE A VARIATION OF 10% AS THERE MAY BE SOME DIFFICULTY TO PROPERLY OUTLINE THE FUZZY BORDERS WITH A TRANSDUCER.

If you have diminished EF and an enlarged heart determined from the echo, the odds are about 100% for heart damage. The nuclear will/should determine the exact area of insufficient blood flow. Do you have your EF and heart's left ventricle heart size? If not, you should get a copy of the report for your records.

Stress and depression (untreated) over a period of time can place a burden on the heart and the physiopathology can cause a heart problem. Usually there are rapid heartbeats and high blood pressure associated and sustained over a period of time.

what are the treatments if there is a problem or is that dependent on certain outcomes. thanks for the input!

If there is some heart damage, the first would be to determine the underlying cause and treat. Most of the time its a blocked or partially blocked vessel. If the blockage is greater than 70%, a stent may be recommended. If a stent isn't appropriate, then a bypass may the way to go. Or just wait and monitor...I had blockage and the system developed a natural bypass. If the condition is ideopathic (cause not known) muscle damage, then the treatment would be drug therapy.

The nuclear test is a start to determine if there are any blocked vessels.

Thanks for the input. Is there anything I should watch out for in the meantime before the test? Is it possible this was a birth defect? Can stress or depression cause heart wall motion abnormalities?

Thanks for the input. Is there anything I should watch out for in the meantime before the test? Is it possible this was a birth defect? Can stress or depression cause heart wall motion abnormalities?

There may or may not be any symptoms. If there is significant heart muscle damage, symtoms would include shortness of breat, muscle fatigue, and fluid retension (lungs, extremities).

It is possible there is a congental defect, but unlikely. Stess and depression would not cause muscle damage, but alcohol, some drugs or some prior illness can.