I delt with chest pains today and called my Dr. and I am going to set up an appt. tomorrow to see a Cardiologist. He said he got the paperwork from the hospital and I did have a heart attack. I knew something was different was I went down to the ER a couple of weeks ago. They are so slow at getting the paperwork out and because I was scheduled for the VNS the next day I had made my mind up to go through with it.

I try to keep calm and I told that ER Dr. I wasn't in any stress but he says I have silent stress.

My problem is going to be finding a good Cardiologist around here. I have one I had seen back 5 years ago when I started with the ischemia and stroke but I didn't like him.

I am going to be having an echocardigram. Have any of you had one of those before? What do they do when you have one. Now I am wondering how they are going to deal with things since this VNS is right near my heart.
I'm wondering how they will do the test.

I'm just really frustrated right now with this mess. I get past one thing and then run into another.

Thanks for listening.
Ada

Oh gosh Ada!
I hope they can work around the VNS while they figure out the heart stuff.
One day at a time - I guess.

Try not to stress Ada.

It wont hurt a bit honest.

Hi Dreambeliever--No Need to worry about an echocardiogram. The technician will have you put on a gown, and then you will lay on your left side. The technician will have a "transducer", that is hooked up to a monitor. The transducer sort of looks like a microphone, and it is placed over your chest and moved around to better visualize the structures of your heart.

Actually, it is very similar to a pregnant womam having a sonogram of her baby in her womb.

An echocardiogram bounces sound waves off the different structures of your heart; the waves that "bounce back" (the echos), are captured by the transducer, and then seen on the monitor. It is actually very interesting to watch! You can see the outline of your heart beating, you can see your heart valves opening and closing in "real time", etc.

The echocardiogram is very valuable in determing MANY aspects of heart function. It can determine if the heart is enlarged, if the heart muscle has enough contractility, if there is an area of scar tissue caused by a myocardial infartion (heart attack), if the heart is able to pump out a normal amount of blood volume, if the heart valves are opening and closing properly, etc.
AND--the miracle of all this technology is that it is TOTALLY NON-INVASIVE, and absolutely SAFE.

I don't foresee a major problem with the wires from the VNS on the vagal nerve...the tech may have to have you get into a different position, or angle the transducer a little differently, or press the tranducer against your chest a little harder than normal to get a "good angle" so that the soundwaves aren't bouncing off the wires and creating a lot of "noise" on the screen.

Actually, the only slightly annoying part of the procedure is the gel that is used to help the transducer bounce the soundwaves and recapure them...it is COLD! However, a lot of techs warm the gel up first...

A "piece of cake", considering all the procedures you have been through!

Hope everything turns out well for you!

Brokenwings

I already know that the echo is only one of the test I will have but I was interested in it. Thanks Brokenwing for telling me about it. I know there will be stress test and posibily an angiogram. It's going to be a complete workup. I'm just sick of test and needles at this point.

Allen, I do notice I am more stressed here lately. I have like 10 things I can't keep off of my mind along with missing Bill. Yesterday, I didn't seem to be stressed but I guess you can be and not know it.

They did tell me if I had to have an MRI ever that the VNS would have to be removed so I'm hoping none of these test require that.

Thanks again all of you.

Ada

Hi again Dreambeliever--The VNS shouldn't affect the stress test or the Angiogram procedures. The stress stest involves you walking on a treadmill while you are hooked up to an EKG machine and a blood pressure cuff.

Is the stress test you are having a "thallium stress test"? If so, then this type of stress test involves a tech injecting a "radio-isotope" into your vein several hours before the actual treadmill stress test. The radio-isotope is a special kind of dye that is particularly good for "illuminating" your heart muscle under flouroscopy (x-ray). After you have completed the treadmill portion of the test, your heart will then be visualized under the flouroscopy so that the Doc can see the area of the heart muscle that may have been been affected by the "heart attack", and the extent of any potential muscle damage that might have occurred.

For the angiogram, that is considered an "invasive" procedure, in that a lead wire and catheter will be "threaded" through the femoral artery of your leg and up to your heart; another lead wire through the subclavian artery (near the top of your heart)...the VNS wires involve your vagal nerve, not the arteries that the Cardiologist will need to use so that the Angiogram dye can then be injected.

Although an Angiogram can be uncomfortable, the Doc will be sure that you are given sedatives, etc. so that you are as comfortable as possible..and, most Docs will even position the x-ray monitors so that you can watch your heart on the x-ray monitor. The Docs will be looking at how the dye flows through your arteries, to determine if any of the arteries have "obstructions" (blockages), and also to see how the heart muscle is functioning, etc.

Hopefully, this information will be useful for you, Dreambeliever, so that you can ask your Cardiologist questions and have your concerns adddressed. AND, hopefully, you won't have to have any more "poking and prodding" done once you get these procedures over and done with!

The very best wishes to you Dreambeliever~ you have had a "lot put on your plate", and I so admire your STRENGTH. You are one brave lady, and I am sure that you have inspired and touched a lot of people by sharing your thoughts and experiences on this Forum!

Most Sincerely,

Brokenwings