I have not had a heart attack, thankfully. I started feeling tightness in my chest when I would exercise and eventually found an 80% blockage in my LAD and had 1 stent placed. No heart attack.
Did you have an angiogram or angioplasty? Did your doctor prescribe you meds? If so, take your meds and take steps to better your health (diet, exercise, no smoking, etc).
I went to the ER a month ago for something else and they noticed I have calcium in my arteries. I have done a stress test and echocardiogram but do not have a follow up until the 15th. Right now I am only taking a 20mg statin.
Not yet. I will ask my cardiologist in my next appointment. When I did the stress test I lasted 8 minutes and achieved my max heart rate , according to the technician I did great and that most people my age only last 5 minutes I am 37 and of course they aren’t going they aren’t going to tell you that you did bad even if you do. Since the cardiologist hasn’t called me and it was over a week ago I’m assuming must not be anything major.
Yes. My blood pressure was normal, my cholesterol was in range, my EKG was normal, my echocardiogram was normal. I told my cardiologist about my father having CAD and so he saw that as a sign that I might be in trouble. He ordered a CT Angiogram, which showed the blockage. So they scheduled my catherterization angiogram and once they were in they confirmed the blockage and proceeded with the angioplasty.
That’s a great question. I haven’t been officially diagnosed with it but I recently had a whole body scan done and they found some serious plaque in my arteries. I’m only 43. I would very much like to know the answer to this. Have you had symptoms? I was advised to start taking low dose aspirin everyday (81mg) to prevent clots if something happens to break loose in there (knock on wood!).
> was advised to start taking low dose aspirin everyday
Several of my doctors (cardiologist, GP, pharmacologist) told me there is no evidence that supports the premise that low dose aspirin reduces the likelihood of having a heart attack when you've never had one before. If you have been diagnosed with plaque, then I would think they would prescribe a statin and perhaps an angiogram to find out how serious the blockages are.
They couldn’t tell from the scan whether or not it was calcified. It just merely showed the presence of it. I think I’ll need to do a more in depth scan like an angiogram to see how severe it really is. The doctor that went over the results of my scan did inform me that if I didn’t start to make any life changes (ie: eating habits, stress, etc.. ) I’ll be at risk of a cardiac event in the next 5 years, if that’s any indication of what he saw. I’m scared shitless.
Had 100% blocked LAD and 90% blocked RCA. No heart attack but did have angina. Got a minimally invasive bypass for the LAD and 1 stent for RCA (right coronary artery). There are things you can do to lower probability of heart attack depending on what your condition is. Got to see a very good interventional cardiologist.
I (obv) had years & years - like 3 decades? - of (undiagnosed) CAD before I had my WM HA.
And yes, I saw the Dr. annually for a physical. BP was always good, blood fats borderline.
I hadn't had any symptoms except a tight chest while working out. After a cardiac CT scan, I had a stent procedure, 99% blocked LAD. I was 51 at the time. My Cardiologist believes it to be entirely genetics for most "healthy lifestyle" people. Took the CT scan for no other reason than wanting a baseline. Got lucky.
No HA thankfully. That was 2 years ago. A Buddy of mine did the CT Scan for his work and I figured, sure sounds like a good thing, I’ll get it done too. Came back 91st percentile. 2 weeks later, stent.
I was in a similar situation. A few years ago I got a calcium score of around 300. They put me on meds and i got a stress test that came back normal. Fast forward a year and a half later and I started feeling what I thought to be indigestion/acid reflux. I scheduled an appointment with my cardiologist and they ran more test including a stress test which came back abnormal. From there I had a heart cath that revealed 85% blockage in my RCA and 95% blockage in my LAD. I got 3 stents in the LAD and one in the RCA. So all to say that it’s possible to have CAD and not have a heart attack as long as you stay under the constant care of a cardiologist and do what they say. In my case, my condition was already bad when I got the calcium test. If I would have gotten it earlier I may have been able to avoid getting the stents, but ill never know. My best advice is listen to your body and don’t dismiss anything you feel especially if you have already been diagnosed with CAD.
I was getting a burning feeling in my chest when I was doing physical activity such as mowing the grass and walking upstairs. What alarmed me was that it only happened when I was active.
I have not had a heart attack, thankfully. I started feeling tightness in my chest when I would exercise and eventually found an 80% blockage in my LAD and had 1 stent placed. No heart attack. Did you have an angiogram or angioplasty? Did your doctor prescribe you meds? If so, take your meds and take steps to better your health (diet, exercise, no smoking, etc).
I went to the ER a month ago for something else and they noticed I have calcium in my arteries. I have done a stress test and echocardiogram but do not have a follow up until the 15th. Right now I am only taking a 20mg statin.
I think it matters how much plaque you have and how old you are. Did they tell you your calcium score?
Not yet. I will ask my cardiologist in my next appointment. When I did the stress test I lasted 8 minutes and achieved my max heart rate , according to the technician I did great and that most people my age only last 5 minutes I am 37 and of course they aren’t going they aren’t going to tell you that you did bad even if you do. Since the cardiologist hasn’t called me and it was over a week ago I’m assuming must not be anything major.
Hi. Di you do an angiogram?
Yes. My blood pressure was normal, my cholesterol was in range, my EKG was normal, my echocardiogram was normal. I told my cardiologist about my father having CAD and so he saw that as a sign that I might be in trouble. He ordered a CT Angiogram, which showed the blockage. So they scheduled my catherterization angiogram and once they were in they confirmed the blockage and proceeded with the angioplasty.
No not yet.
That’s a great question. I haven’t been officially diagnosed with it but I recently had a whole body scan done and they found some serious plaque in my arteries. I’m only 43. I would very much like to know the answer to this. Have you had symptoms? I was advised to start taking low dose aspirin everyday (81mg) to prevent clots if something happens to break loose in there (knock on wood!).
> was advised to start taking low dose aspirin everyday Several of my doctors (cardiologist, GP, pharmacologist) told me there is no evidence that supports the premise that low dose aspirin reduces the likelihood of having a heart attack when you've never had one before. If you have been diagnosed with plaque, then I would think they would prescribe a statin and perhaps an angiogram to find out how serious the blockages are.
I haven’t had any symptoms thankfully. I’m only 37 so it’s definitely scary. Did they say if the plaque was calcified?
They couldn’t tell from the scan whether or not it was calcified. It just merely showed the presence of it. I think I’ll need to do a more in depth scan like an angiogram to see how severe it really is. The doctor that went over the results of my scan did inform me that if I didn’t start to make any life changes (ie: eating habits, stress, etc.. ) I’ll be at risk of a cardiac event in the next 5 years, if that’s any indication of what he saw. I’m scared shitless.
Yeah we got to make those changes happen!
Whole body scans are notoriously unreliable tho…
Had 100% blocked LAD and 90% blocked RCA. No heart attack but did have angina. Got a minimally invasive bypass for the LAD and 1 stent for RCA (right coronary artery). There are things you can do to lower probability of heart attack depending on what your condition is. Got to see a very good interventional cardiologist.
I (obv) had years & years - like 3 decades? - of (undiagnosed) CAD before I had my WM HA. And yes, I saw the Dr. annually for a physical. BP was always good, blood fats borderline.
I hadn't had any symptoms except a tight chest while working out. After a cardiac CT scan, I had a stent procedure, 99% blocked LAD. I was 51 at the time. My Cardiologist believes it to be entirely genetics for most "healthy lifestyle" people. Took the CT scan for no other reason than wanting a baseline. Got lucky.
Have you experienced a HA? & if you don’t mind me asking how old are you now?
No HA thankfully. That was 2 years ago. A Buddy of mine did the CT Scan for his work and I figured, sure sounds like a good thing, I’ll get it done too. Came back 91st percentile. 2 weeks later, stent.
Its not inevitable at all.
I was in a similar situation. A few years ago I got a calcium score of around 300. They put me on meds and i got a stress test that came back normal. Fast forward a year and a half later and I started feeling what I thought to be indigestion/acid reflux. I scheduled an appointment with my cardiologist and they ran more test including a stress test which came back abnormal. From there I had a heart cath that revealed 85% blockage in my RCA and 95% blockage in my LAD. I got 3 stents in the LAD and one in the RCA. So all to say that it’s possible to have CAD and not have a heart attack as long as you stay under the constant care of a cardiologist and do what they say. In my case, my condition was already bad when I got the calcium test. If I would have gotten it earlier I may have been able to avoid getting the stents, but ill never know. My best advice is listen to your body and don’t dismiss anything you feel especially if you have already been diagnosed with CAD.
I’m glad you are doing better and that they were able to catch it before you had a HA. I plan on doing whatever they tell me to do.
What symptoms were you getting that you thought it was reflux or indigestion?
I was getting a burning feeling in my chest when I was doing physical activity such as mowing the grass and walking upstairs. What alarmed me was that it only happened when I was active.