Posted on 06/07/2018 2:14:13 PM PDT by CodeToad
No, this is not a boo-hoo thread.
This is a thread to provide a little advice that may save your life.
My brother died suddenly of a massive heart attack yesterday at age 65. He had no known heart issues and was under doctor's care at the time. He thought he had taken care of himself. He obviously hadn't.
Two things that anyone should try to obtain: An EKG, and most importantly, a heart image scan. The heart scan is also known as a Calcium Heart Score and costs about $99.
The heart scan takes about 5 minutes and produces 64 highly accurate photographs of the heart and arteries. It will show arterial blockages from their calcium content. You will immediately know if you have arterial blockages and if you need intervention of some sort.
Combined with the EKG, you will have an exceptional view of your cardiac health.
My brother didn't have such a scan and his EKG didn't demonstrate any blockages, but he had them, and he died from them.
If you are in the Colorado area, South Denver Cardiology in Littleton performs the scan for $99. Check in your State or area for such a service.
South Denver Cardiology Associates Heart Scan
Thanks for paying attention.
oy. sorry for your loss. and i never go to the doctor.
I am very sorry for your loss. I also admire that you are using a personal tragedy to try and help other people.
“You’d think in this day and age they could be a little more precise!”
Get a heart scan. It is very precise. It can radically change your doctor’s view of your health. That, and get a second opinion from a cardiologist.
“i never go to the doctor.”
That’s not always the wisest choice. When you’re younger, you can get away with it most often. Older, not so much. Too many things start to get haywire. Not to mention, many younger people die too from preventable issues.
Thanks. His heart attack was a complete stunner. His health otherwise said he should have lived many more years. A heart scan probably would have saved his life, but he kept saying, “I should. Maybe soon.” Too late.
Thank you. Some of the hardest people to get to change are the professionals. I’m one, and as much as I study and research I will have a hard time changing my ways sometimes.
Case in point, just today I started using a technology that has been out for 5 years. I resisted spending the time to learn about it. It would have saved me all kinds of grief if I had just adopted it 5 years ago.
i know. i just hate my doctor. an arrogant little b!@# and i can’t drop her.
I remember reading years ago about the efficacy of calcium scans, so just looked up the current thinking. The American College of Cardiology has a good article: "Coronary Artery Calcium: Score? or No More?," May 20, 2014:
"Coronary calcium rules as a power player in assessing risk. "It's not a risk factor, it's the actual disease," said Robert O. Bonow, MD. "So, it's not surprising that it turns out to be a good predictor of events." For every calcified plaque found in a patient's coronaries, Dr. Bonow said there are many noncalcified plaques, too, such that the calcium burden measured by CAC probably equals about one-fifth of the total atherosclerosis burden.
And how many other tests can make this claim: there are no false positives with CAC scanning and very little measurement error.
In short, no matter which way you slice it, most agree that CAC offers the best discrimination of all the second-tier assessment techniques available—an opinion that is echoed in the recent guidelines. In several studies, CAC provided additional risk stratification when added to traditional risk scores, testing better than C-reactive protein (CRP) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).
"It feels to me that we can say pretty definitively that if we were going to line up all the currently available risk markers that are not traditional risk factors, the winner is still CAC," said Dr. Greenland.
Another complaint lobbed against CAC is the lack of a randomized clinical trial showing that its use actually improves outcomes. Several groups, including one headed by Dr. Greenland, have tried to fill this gap, but the necessary trial would be both large and prohibitively expensive. "We tried to get a study like that funded but we estimated we'd need to enroll about 30,000 patients and it would cost between 80 and 100 million dollars to conduct," said Dr. Greenland. "In the current environment, that is unlikely to get funded."
The fact that numerous centers in the United States persist in offering cheap calcium scans without appropriate pre-screening has clearly damaged the test's reputation in the wider cardiology community.
"It's terrible medicine," Dr. Nissen flatly declared, especially when centers use billboard ads to pitch wives on a unique Valentine's Day gift for their husbands' hearts: Get his coronaries scanned for 99 bucks. Think of it as medicine's "blue light special." "It's a loss leader to get people into the cath lab in order to have unnecessary and inappropriate procedures," said Dr. Nissen—an opinion echoed by Dr. Greenland. Although these centers require, by law, a physician's referral, concerns persist that the referrals are rubber stamps and the scans are being massively overused.
Dr. Bonow suggests that cardiologists may be overstating the case. In the early days, CAC scans were being used "in some circles" to drive more cardiovascular imaging and more procedures, but this is not really the case anymore. "With time, I think the field has matured and we realize the value of this test when used properly," he said.
I had a heart attack at age 50 in 2012.
95% blockage in left anterior descending, the “widow maker”.
I was a soccer coach for the kid, raced bicycles, was very active.
But diet and hereditary caught up with me.
You never know! Except for being winded chasing around rugrats, I thought I was in great shape.
My takeaway was you should get checked. It can happen to anyone at any time.
My brother died suddenly at age 43 of a heart attack.
“Also a carotid artery scan.”
My mother just had one, at age 101, and they were quite pleased with <50% blockage.
If God gave you a malady, you must live or die with it. Period.
Sorry for your loss. I lost a brother in ‘06. Hurts like hell.
You say he thought he was taking care of himself. Would you mind giving some details? How was his weight? How was his diet? Alcohol consumption? Stress levels on a daily basis? Genetics....heart disease or heart attacks in the family?
Thank you and hang in there.
My brother who was 43 and I both have hiatal hernias.
I have since learned that it VERY COMMON for heart patients to thin it is their hiatal hernia that’s painful, when, in truth, they are experiencing the pangs of an oncoming heart attack.
My brother thought he was having pain from the hiatal hernia. His doctor, at a well regarded hospital, was on his honeymoon. He figured he’d wait a week or two until he returned.
In the meantime, he dies in the early morning, alone, at home.
Lesson: If you have pains in your chest, do not assume hiatal hernia .... go to the hospital and get it checked!
Later
And check the Aorta.
To my knowledge, stress tests are being done less frequently these days, but are still ordered. I did one, and I’d never do it again. If a valve problem is detected, typically if the Patient is asymptomatic, one can go a long time before intervention is needed.
A Cardiac Catheterization is a process where a balloon is introduced into an artery and moved right up into the heart itself in order to determine if there is a need for stenting or CABG (coronary artery bypass) which can be 1,2,3, or even 4. Thus the term CABG x 3 etc.
Cardiac Caths have become relatively routine and are now done through the radial (wrist) artery. Pt is awake, and mildly sedated, and it is quick and mostly painless. I know because I had one.
I had an AVR (Aortic Valve Replacement) less than 2 years ago, and it was great. My problem was the result of a childhood illness. I have never smoked and I had no need for any stents or Bypass.
I knew about my issues for many years, though it was never a problem. Once I developed symptoms though, I was put into the queue and I am fortunate indeed.
Symptoms for me involved SOB (shortness of breath) and difficulty sleeping while supine (flat on the back.)
I am unrestricted in physical activities. I can run, swim, go on a roller coaster, anything.
I am sorry about your Bro. and if I were not so blessed, I might also be on the other side of the veil. I have lost brothers as well, prematurely.
I would not hesitate to see the Doctor for a second if I had symptoms of CHF, which is sort of what my symptoms were like.
My sincere condolences on your loss and my personal thanks on your heartfelt advice.
- Megan
This will kill you quicker than anything. You would be amazed at the problems that can be detected by just a physical checkup and lab work. Being a pilot and having to see a doctor twice a year has kept me alive and healthy to the age of 63. That, and living a healthy lifestyle. I can still ride bicycles with my teenage grand kids and stay with the pack. If you are over 50, you should be getting a physical exam and labwork at least once a year. (Twice a year is better.)
Your comment makes no sense. Are you suggesting people do not get medical help? The notion that people should not get medical attention when they have a medical condition, chronic ailment or the like is absurd. This is the Christian Scientist position on medicine. Probably killed more people than any other single religious cause other than terrorism.
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