Cardiac issues

[BenHall1]

Hi CD,

Following on from your comments re MSK specialist and my reply.

Since Sept/Oct 2023 my BP has progressively worsened while HR is beautifully spot on. BP is gradually trending up to around the 166/80 whereas in October and earlier it was a comfortable 132/70 with a beautiful steady HR. Whilst I have had alot of left shoulder pain in this time frame ( which is being treated and is not really controlled ) which can play around with BP, there is too much going on in my chest. My squadrons of butterflies are in combat, fluttering around, palpitations, quite massive thumps at times and at times a feeling that I'm listing to my right side ( that's the one that bothers me ) very slightly. These can't be put down to pain .......... can they?

I decided to bite the bullet and self refer to a Cardio Consultant, (paying privately ) who I saw on 30 April. At the moment we are at the investigation stage and one of his early recommendations is to reduce my alcohol consumption. I have also had an Echo, a ECG and BPin his office/hospital setting.

Next, on 7 May I have a 7day Holter Monitor fitted, then at a later date I have a cardiac CT Scan - which will be the start point for different medication, namely, Sotalol 40mg and Flecainide .... BUT .... HERE'S THE RUB - I must have the CT Scan first before going onto Flec. He told me why, I nodded my head ......... so question to you and/or anybody .......... has anyone gone onto Flec via the cardiac CT Scan or have they just gone cold turkey and straight onto Flec ????? without CT Scan.

So there we are.

John

[CDreamer]

Hi John - way back in 2009 yes BUT I had to stay under medical supervision for 8 hours following my first dose.

I think it’s really important to have the scan I think you know that because Flec can cause arrhythmias and indeed I was very carefully monitored with regular ECGs to check that Flec wasn’t causing more problems, I started to have wide QRS intervals after about a year and it failed to stop the AF breaking through anyway so I came off.

The scan may also reveal something important about your shoulder pain as well so well done John for biting the bullet. You need to discover the cause of all of this as it’s obviously distressing you.

I don’t know if you know about the Bartaf.com site but they have a short blog about chest pain and AF? May answer part of your question and something to ask new cardio.

[BenHall1 in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you CD, appreciate your words of wisdom ......... this is new territory for me because when I was first diagnosed in East Surrey Hospital, Reigate I was sent to A & E by GP, and kept in for 5 days. All manner of tests were done then but at this distant time I cannot remember what they were... certainly an Echocardiogram, but other stuff too.

Comforted by your comments, gives me an added level of confidence in the quality of my new Cardiac Consultant ( a South African who did his early training at Groote Schuur, Cape Town ).

It may well be there is a link between my pain and my high BP and AF kicking off.

You'll be interested to know that I've decided to retire ( for the second time ) and have set my date as 5 July 2024 (79 approaching 80 ). That is the end of College/Term year. Gonna be hard.

Currently drawing up retirement plans, things to do. Projects etc.

Will now investigate Bartaf.com - thanks for that.

John

[Hidden]

I didn’t realise a cardiac CT was now considered necessary before starting Flecainide ( cynically I’m wondering whether paying for it is a factor?). Or is it the new gold standard?

To answer your question, I had none of echocardiogram, Cardiac CT (probably not available in 2010?), or a rate control medication before taking my first pill in pocket Flecainide.

And promptly went into atrial fllutter. I’ve always felt that in my case, it was not having any rate control medication that was responsible for that.

[Buffafly in reply to Hidden]

They’ve learned things since then…..

[BenHall1 in reply to Hidden]

The Consultant stated for me - in writing - in respect of cardiac CT that it will show the state of my coronary arteries ...... if these are clear then the possibility is open to use Flecainide. If that's what my man in Cardiology says - then that's the way to go. It would be used alongside Sotalol which in itself will replace Nebivolol.

[Dudtbin]

i am going to have a stress mri to see if i can go on flecainide, im currently on sotalol but heart rate too low - not that it bothers me.

[BenHall1 in reply to Dudtbin]

That's v interesting ... comforting too. It would seem that this is the modern approach to putting a patient onto Flec. Regardless of whether CT or MRI, it seems to be a precautionary step.

[Ducky2003]

I was put on Flecanide about 5 years ago, no scan, no immediate monitoring and was a wreck after 3 days. Heart was all over the place, worse than the AF was at that time so was taken straight off it.What was the reason given for the scan first, out if interest? If there's something needs checking/assessing before they give you Flecanide, I'd absolutely do it.

[BenHall1 in reply to Ducky2003]

Hiya Ducky,

This is a summary I put on here earlier .......... for your info ........ "The Consultant stated for me - in writing - in respect of cardiac CT that it will show the state of my coronary arteries ...... if these are clear then the possibility is open to use Flecainide. If that's what my man in Cardiology says - then that's the way to go. It would be used alongside Sotalol which in itself will replace Nebivolol ".

John

[Ducky2003 in reply to BenHall1]

Ahhh, sorry if I've missed a post. I don't always get alerts. Better safe than sorry, I suppose, but there was nothing wrong with my arteries and Flec still turned me into Chicken Licken on crack, if you remember the cartoon 😁.

[BenHall1 in reply to Ducky2003]

Bless - 😂😂😂😂

[Vonnegut]

We are all different - I’m an 80 year old woman but after my diagnosis I was f given an echocardiogram which showed there were no structural problems with my heart. After the lowest dose of Bisoprolol proved too much for me to take daily we saw an EP privately who wasn’t convinced I had AF at first but after he had introduced me to having a smart phone and a Kardia and I had sent him a reading of my heart in AF he sent a prescription for Flecainide for me to my surgery to take as a PIP when it worked very well at ending episodes within a few hours. Later, as episodes increased, it was suggested I take the Flecainide daily and now that I take 100mg twice daily, as I have written here before, I have not had an episode for over over 15 months ( and the last brief episode ended with an extra PIP) must have been when I caught covid with no other symptoms but a positive test.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi Mr Ben

Flecainide is an anti-arrhymic med.

Only if your heart is structurally sound can you have it, or a cardioversion or an ablation.

I cannot have any of the above with a severe dilation of the left atrium.

If you do the Flecainide will make your heart function WORSE and risk your heart fighting against its action.

You have a good interested H/Specialist so follw his/her instructions to the letter.

Be psatient while you are sorted.

Cheri JOY

[BenHall1 in reply to JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hiya Joy,

From what tests my Cardio guy has done I think he is being cautious. In his write up to my GP ( of which I have a copy ) there seems to be an issue, a borderline issue with LVH - left ventricle hypertrophy. He has seen a different report from 2022 which says severe LVH. Based on our most recent echocardiogram he doesn't think so. To be investigated further. Assuming both are correct I wonder if this means LVH can reverse itself.

I really like this guy and will do exactly as I'm told.

I am unsure exactly what a cardiac CT shows or is expected to show. Must check it out.

May the force be with you.

John

[JOY2THEWORLD49 in reply to BenHall1]

Hi

Structural as I see it has nothing to do with arteries.

I have had 2 CT scans both for the return of my papillary cancer in thyroid lymphs nodes. CT scans and when they have dye as well show function and the latest 1 was RA Radio Active Readers which show actual movement, and where cancer is and where it is going. I had to do a 24 hr prior no heavy activity, no carbohydrates, or sugars as the infusion consists of sugar.

I'm still awaiting results.

4 days after stroke in 2019 I had a Carotid Arteries scan and I had clean arteries. Not blocked or restricted.

In 2022 I was newly diagnosed with a Soft Systollic Heart Murmur.

Mr Ben if you given anti-arrhymnic meds like Flecainide your AF would likely get worse with added flutters.

I was told that Diltiazem has the same action as an anti-arryhmnic med but through its action of slowing down heart rate.

Interesting by taking my Diliazem 120mg AM it does not reduce my 47avg Night Heart Rate.

Best to follow your 'interested' h/Specialst.

We will await how your progress goes.

cheri jOY

[solarjdo69]

You may want to consider that your capillaries, arteries and such are being clogged by spike proteins from either covid itself or the vaccine. There are quite a few studies and indications that the vax can cause the smaller vessels to clog which increase BP EG: think back pressure.

Taking nattokinase and MRM Cardio Chelate will help clear out the crud in the system. My cardiologist wanted me to do an angioplasty last July 2023 due to low percentage of heart pumping (loss of 60% approx.) I said I'd like to wait and took my Drano (MRM Cardio Chelate).

Saw him 3 months later and he said "John you look good!" I asked what he meant and said that one can tell a lot from the skin tone. He did an ECG and echo cardio gram and was surprised and the improvement. He said keep doing what you are doing and see me in 6 months.

Alternative and natural healing modalities are something Doctors are not really trained in so you have to take it upon yourself to investigate and try some. It's worked great for me over the years.

One more example. When I was around 18 I picked up a bad case of Plantars worts at my fraternity shower room. Specialist wanted me to put cream on to gradually burn off outer layers of skin until small enough for him to freeze or burn out. a few were quite big, big toe had one from top through to the bottom.

Read about using large doses of Vitamin E. I took 400IU natural E 4 times a day. In a week the smallest turned black. A week later they fell out and I had small dents in feet which eventually filled in with new tissue. The BIG one took 3 weeks and then it wwas gone. I called the specialist to cancel seeing him again and of course he said that the E wouldn't work.

Ce la Vie! I threw away the cream and never saw him again.

[BenHall1 in reply to solarjdo69]

Hi,

Thanks. A question ..... when you say ........... " My cardiologist wanted me to do an angioplasty last July 2023 due to low percentage of heart pumping (loss of 60% approx.) " are you in fact talking about the ejection fraction ?

[solarjdo69 in reply to BenHall1]

I’m not sure, but what was getting pumped was 40% of “normal.” He thought I had some coronary artery blockage. Wanted to scrape it out if they found any. I know people who had that done and months later they died of blood clots which can be caused by that procedure.

If my Drano didn’t work, I would have submitted, but would not look forward to it.

[BenHall1 in reply to solarjdo69]

I was just curious - one of the features/indicators of an Echocardiogram is the Ejection Fraction .... in a normal health person this would be around 60 to 70%. Mine has progressively fallen from 65% in 2020 down to 62% in 2022 ... waiting to find out the current figure now. Of course I've got older too 🙂

In many cases with some cardiac conditions this drop often as low as around 40%. This is an indicator of a heart issue needing specialist attention.

I wish you good luck on your journey.