CT Scan Results

[Lawrence78]

Hello again. Just had my CT scan results back and amazingly it says I do not have angina!

The results show no coronary plaque identified, but minor aortic valve calcification noted. It also noted my lungs appear fine, but they do note slightly patulous oesophagus - what does this mean?

So this is great but somewhat surprising news as I have still been getting this tight chest problem (for almost 5 months now). So I'm left wondering what's going on. I have arranged to see my doctor to chat about the results (as I have been discharged from the hospital without anyone talking to me about the results).

They noted in the paperwork that my original ECG was abnormal, hence why I had to have the CT scan. So does anyone have any idea why this is?Could it have been a one off? I surprised the hospital isn't wanting to look into that a bit further.

Thanks for any insight.

[Autumn_Leaves]

That’s fantastic news about your CT scan. As for the ECG, they certainly have a very important role to play in assessing what might be going on in the moment but they can throw up odd results at times. You can have a normal ECG but still have a cardiac condition, and you can have an abnormal ECG and have a very normal, properly functioning heart. Your CT scan is probably the more reliable test.

Your breathlessness may not have a cardiac cause, so it’s worth trying to get to the bottom of this, especially if you are middle aged or older. You don’t want to miss something that could be treated. It could be a reaction to air pollution or an irritant in your work or even home environment. My husband experiences tightness in the chest when the air quality is poor, but at the same time, you don’t want to be complacent about these symptoms.

[Lawrence78 in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Thanks for replying. I am still kinda surprised the hospital hasn't wanted to speak to me further about the 'symptoms' I had or results. I am seeing my doctor to follow up but I doubt anything else will happen as I feel they will probably look at me as fine now (seeing as the hospital discharged me virtually straight away via the letter).

It's all very odd because the tight chest problems I was getting swayed from being like unstable angina and extremely random, to being like classic angina (I would be walking home from the shops with a couple bags of heavy-ish shopping and I'd get a tight chest). Of course anxiety probably didn't help and I do suffer from terrible anxiety (convinced myself I had angina and I'd be heading for surgery, which was terrifying me).

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Lawrence78]

The way things are now, we’re only getting the absolute minimum of appointments and followup. If tests results show that there is nothing there that needs immediate attention then you’re just left to your own devices. I suspect that if there has been no significant change in my AF I will be discharged following my next cardiology appointment in December. I think we are pretty much left to self-manage which I suppose is why these forums are very important to many people.

I’d still pursue the breathlessness and chest symptoms because these are potentially red flags. Anxiety can produce very real symptoms, not to mention absolute terror for people when it happens, but it really needs to be an explanation after anything else has been ruled out.

[fishonabike]

Patulous oesophagus - very basically, your oesophagus is the tube which connects your stomach to your mouth - it has a sphincter (ring of muscle to open and close it) near the top and "Patulous" means this is not closing properly - this and other problems with the oesopagus and it's entrance to the stomach can cause "heartburn" which can feel very similar to heart pain - you might need to see a gastroenterologist about this

alternatively you could have a breathing issue such as asthma, as Autumn Leaves suggested - you GP or Practice Nurse can do a simple breathing test with a Peak Flow meter and refer yo on if this gives cause for concern - I found i had this, probably linked to poor air quality and medication has relieved it completely

I hope you soon find out what is causing your problem so that you can get appropriate help

[Lawrence78 in reply to fishonabike]

I do have issues with my throat, clearing my throat often (for years), tight sensation in the throat, and I do have asthma (or used to). I do also tend to get wind issues.

How did they find this with a CT scan for my heart?

[fishonabike]

i don't know enough about CT scans to be able to give you a definitive answer, but i guess it would be visible, the heart and oesophagus are close to each other (check the anatomy) i have had heart pain as a symptom of Takotsubo (look it up!) and at one time i had a similar pain and thought i was having another episode ....... until i burped and the pain disappeared! The similarity between stomach-related and heart pain are known about in the medical world and beyond, i hope your team picks up on this and checks all possibilities for you ...... with a bit of a prod maybe! there are treatment options available