Eeeean! I just copied the name of your upcoming test, CT Coronary Angiogram, pasted it into google and the first return was GREAT news. Thank you so much
Before I forget, and if you don't mind, where are you having this done, and will your insurance cover it?
To answer your questions, I had one type of angina for many years (don't think it was 10) before I had a heart attack last May (minor heart damage), and a light stroke. It was pressure in my chest, no pain, just a tightness that covered my chest. It happened while at rest, so my cardiologist didn't think that it was heart related. Most angina happens after exertion, and goes away after rest or nitro.
I take 30 mg Imdur daily, which is a time released nitroglycerine. I also have the fast acting nitro for under the tongue. The Imdur decreased the frequency and magnitude of the angina that I have (that's what it is for). It is a vasodilator. It expands all of the arteries. If I stopped taking it, my angina might come back like it used to be, which was
not debilitating, but very uncomfortable. I think that theoretically, Imdur helps to grow new, collateral arteries. I have never read this though. I still have angina, but seldom to the point of having to take the fast acting nitro. These days it is just an ugly reminder of heart disease/CAD. It does get painful at times when I exercise on my treadmill. I still get 3 types of angina. Tightness in the chest, burning pain in the center of my chest along with an achy left arm, and a numb, burning type in my back, directly behind my heart (only after exercise).
I have had 3 cardiac catheterizations, and no angioplasty. The 1st cath showed that my ramus artery went totally closed, and caused my heart attack. It was too small for a stent or angioplasty, plus it was too late to reopen it. The damage was done. My coronary arteries are different from 90% of the rest of you folks. I have a left dominant heart. My rca is tiny and ~45% blocked. My left main coronary artery supplies most of my heart. It has a blockage at the top that worries me everyday. The last cath I had, showed it was ~45% blocked. Stents are not usually inserted until the blockage is >70% or so, and the artery must be large enough, to get a stent into.
I have super high cholesterol, and cannot take statins. I take beta blockers, ace inhibitors, plavix and a host of supplements, including fish oil, folic acid, b12, and b6. (all doctor recommended).
I have read that it is not uncommon for angina to occur after a large meal. As a matter of a fact, many have had heart attacks after a large meal. I suppose it may be due to all the blood that travels to the stomach and intestines after we eat, in order to digest our food. While in school, we never ate before a test, because we wanted the blood to stay in our brains, lol. You need to take the meds for GERD or acid reflux, so as to rule out this condition being the cause of your pain.
Don't be so worried about not being able to get "fixed". If you have any blockages, looks like this
new test you are about to have, will find them. Good doctors and medicine can do amazing things nowadays. Just don't let a heart attack sneak up on you, because then you either die, or have some damage to your heart to live with.
Thanks so much for your information. Here is some info I found on this new test :
Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital
New CT Coronary Angiogram
The new high-resolution scanner available at the Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital can produce images so detailed that blockages or plaques can be visualized just as in an invasive coronary angiogram.
In a brief outpatient procedure, physicians can use the scanner to acquire three-dimensional images of the area being studied. The CT coronary angiogram takes pictures of the blood flow within the arteries after a dye is injected into a peripheral vein. Compared to invasive coronary angiography which involves placement of a catheter in the groin or arm and injecting dye into an artery, this approach is more patient-friendly. In approximately 30 seconds, hundreds of pictures or “slices” of the artery are produced with one revolution of the camera.
CT angiography is most appropriate for patients who are at risk for developing cardiac disease. This can include patients who smoke, have high cholesterol, experience chest pain, or have a family history of cardiac disease.
The CT scanner also performs calcium scoring, allowing physicians to detect calcium buildup in the arteries. Unlike traditional CT and chest x-ray, which only show calcification, the new scanner can identify soft, non-calcified plaque. By identifying plaque at an early stage, aggressive preventive treatments may help stop the development of heart disease.
The CT angiogram may be used to rule out pulmonary embolism, identify aneurysms in the aorta or other major blood vessels, identify dissection in the aorta or its major branches, and detect narrowing or obstruction of arteries. In the future, physicians may also use the scan to monitor patients with previous bypass surgery or stent placement.
“The feasibility of non-invasive coronary artery imaging opens up the possibility of imaging patients earlier in the course of coronary artery disease when their condition may be more treatable,” said Kevin Wheelan, M.D.*, co-chief of cardiology and chief of staff at Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital.
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