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[Philefc1802]

hey

37 years old male, copd none smoker, very frequent hospital visits with pneumonia and admissions. Copd due to birth issues and asthma. Under a number of consultants at a Merseyside hospital.

Recently discharged after a bout of pneumonia.

last week went on a walk with the gf and on a incline. Very chesty, breathless and requiring my blue.

following day very sore chest, pressure, crushing and tightness, breathless on movement and palpitations

Visited A&E

Tropium tests all ok, ecg seems ok. But referred to cardiac tests

EEG and CT angiogram.

home recordings for last few days of Bp and all of them showing high levels.

breathless on movement, stairs and discomfort pain too.

breathless is not my usual with my copd, feels different.

any thoughts?

thanks

Phil

Liverpool

[PadThaiNoodles]

Troponin will usually show if there's been any damage to the heart, but it's not 100%. CT angiogram will give them a good look at your coronary arteries to see if anything's up there. Not sure about EEG. Are you sure you don't mean echo? That would make more sense (it will give them a better look at any valve issues or LVH).

Afraid I don't know much about symptoms. I had to have a double valve-job, but was never symptomatic. Just echos for the better part of 20 years and then OHS when I started to get LVH.

[Philefc1802 in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

Hiya

Yeah sorry I meant echo.

Would Troponin show congestive heart failure or just the likes of heart attacks/angina on the day of recent days?

Ah right ok. Iv just been walking around in the wild and the discomfort and breathlessness and dizziness is unreal! I also think it’s BP related too

[PadThaiNoodles in reply to Philefc1802]

I think troponin will only show damage to the heart muscle. Congestive HF floods the lungs but doesn't damage the heart muscle, so I don't think will show elevated levels of troponin. But the echo will give you an ejection fraction and show LVH, which should point them in the right direction. Did they also schedule you for a chest X-ray? That will tell them if you have fluid build-up in the lungs.

[PadThaiNoodles in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

(Note that I don't have any idea how all this interacts with COPD. That might -- or might not -- change things.)

[Philefc1802 in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

ah ok! Great!

Yeah had x ray on Monday to check for new chest infection hence the pain but nothing mentioned re heart

I will wait out and see what comes of it all

[JHutton1994 in reply to Philefc1802]

Hello there, Phil. Troponin bloods only rule out acute cardiac issues like an MI. BNP is what's checked on a blood test to assess heart failure. The echocardiogram will also confirm one way or another, it would also assess the likelihood that you have developed pulmonary hypertension which can be secondary to COPD. Best of luck with it all.

[Happyrosie]

you might find help on the COPD forum of Health Unlocked?

[devonian186]

You don't say what medications you are on. Many can cause breathlessness or dizziness. Each pack will have a leaflet. Why not have a read and see what it says. Some will say they shouldn't be taken if, for example, you have Asthma. I do wonder if pneumonia might also carry the same sort of warning.

What are the underlying reasons for hospital admittance due to pneumonia.

[Drummer20]

Hi Phil,you might have another chest infection after the pneumonia.

An echocardiogram would show if you had some heart valve problems or problems with the heart muscle.

I had what I thought were respiratory issues for a long time but my heart valve wasn’t working properly.They found this by accident when a cardiologist listened to my heart and ordered an echocardiogram.Since having a valve replacement I don’t get any of these symptoms I’m not saying that you don’t have respiratory issues,I just think it’s worth getting your valves checked..

[Lowerfield_no_more]

My take on your situation would be that your recent problems are more likely but not definitely related to a respiratory condition especially since it follows a recent bout of pneumonia coupled with your COPD, added to which the A&E investigations appear to have ruled out a sudden heart event such as a small heart attack. If you have an underlying heart issue that, in my laymans view, would not have suddenly appeared it would be progressive. I have mild asthma coupled with a little COPD and normally don't suffer any respiratory problems but if I have a virus or similar it can really cause me problems with breathing post virus although thankfully these problems slowly go away after a couple of weeks. In your case the after effects of your pneumonia might be more far reaching and lingering than you might have thought. I would suggest you seek some assistance from your COPD health professional to see if there is anything they can do to help you.

[HHH2017]

Hi, you have a lot going on😞Sounds like you need more medical advice so a call to the BHF nurses might be helpful. Best of luck.

bhf nurses