Subclavian Steal Syndrome???

[welp417]

Hello all. I had my ha on July 19th this year. As a result my cardiologist has sent me for many tests. I have had blockages in my carotid arteries for a few years now that are monitored yearly. This time (March) we discovered that my blood pressure is higher in my right arm than my left by 20-25 points systolic.The pcp had been in the process of figuring out why before I had my ha. According to the doppler ultrasound I did last week on my neck my blood flow in my one of my arteries that supplies the left arm & brain is now flowing backwards. The tech told me that it means there is a blockage in my subclavian artery (which usually supplies blood to arms) and my body has compensated by going around the blockage & its nothing to worry about. However after going down the Google rabbit hole (I know I know) this condition actually isnt that common or at least not usually diagnosed unless a person is symptomatic. I have now realized that for at least the last 5 months my blood pressure has been being taken in the wrong arm (my left) INCLUDING when I was in the hospital after my ha & thats the bp my meds have been based on. I am going to cardiac rehab & I know I should be telling them to take my bp in my right arm (because that arm is the correct reading)but I dont for fear they wont let me exercise and also because I am afraid of what the b/p reading would be & it will send my anxiety spiraling & I am having enough problems with that already due to my ha & all the changes including quitting smoking cold turkey. I do know that there is a blockage because when people try to take it in my left arm, they say it's really hard to hear or they cant hear it all. Basically my brain "steals" the blood flow from the arm to keep itself supplied. I called my dr office but have not heard back from them. I go for follow up appt on the 29th of this month and hopefully get some answers. Its discouraging and frightening to think that I thought my bp was under control for all this time and now to find out it probably wasnt. I havent seen any other posts about this on the forums so I dont even know where to look for support. Thanks for reading. ❤️‍🩹