last year had an echo done where someone basically marked it as normal even though there were findings so it was then not acted on by my own doctors, sometime after that i fell very ill and when in hospital there were issues with my potassium and sodium levels.
when i came out of hospital 2 weeks after strange things started happening with my hands, it was thought that this was a MSK problem then roll on this year and it was noted by my district nurses that my hands looked puffy and she thought it was fluid.
i then went this morning to be horrified that this was possibly a heart issue which in turn was causing the fluid problem was totally mortified.
and now i am facing a barage of tests what gets me is that they had a chance last year to act but who ever just put normal on a scan which wasn't as it had findings and also showed changes from the first echo.
last echo - shows leaky heart valve and some other what i can only call as minor but my gut feeling is that the problem lays with the heart valve.
well will wait now to see what the tests show, i feel so annoyed and to say slightly distressed.
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mikeydt
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Hi mickeydt. I am sure you were shocked to hear this after being told the echo was normal to start with. The fluid in your hands would explain there is a heart issue at play here and you need to get to the bottom of it and you should arrange to be referred to a cardiologist via your GP. I had something similar a few years ago after angina being ruled out a further ECG revealed LBBB but nothing further has been done about it. I was told at the time the hospital would contact me in a year or two to keep on top of things but I haven't heard a thing. Hope you get things sorted and soon. Take care
Is it possible that last year’s Echo showed ‘just’ a slightly leaky heart valve in which case treatment isn’t generally advised/necessary at that stage, but that is no excuse for you not being informed? I was diagnosed with a “slightly” leaking valve many years ago and no-one has investigated it in the intervening years, until recent chest pain was investigated and a “moderate to severe” leak now diagnosed.
Potassium and sodium levels can also be raised in reduced functioning kidneys which can lead to fluid retention/swelling - I assume your kidney function has been checked?
many thanks for the quick replies, as i have had previous issues with potassium / sodium levels they are going to check again along with some other stuff.
what worries me at the moment is that what i am getting is the same symptoms as i had before xmas before i fell really ill, the issue also now is that i am getting fluid problems so not too good.
hopefully it has been caught early, i will keep the forum informed as to what is found.
Mikey, is your sodium problem one of it being too high or too low? If the former, whilst you are awaiting further investigation/treatment, you could try to deal with your swelling by cutting salt from your diet and adding in some known diuretic-type foods such as asparagus and celery (you can look up more food choices known to have a diuretic action). Just a thought.
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