Cardiac testing advice

[violetta115]

Hi everyone. I'm 76 years old and I have PV MPN-U and am doing well on 500 mg of hydroxyurea and 2 baby aspirin daily. Recently had some chest pain,( which I've had a couple of times over the past five years, which I attributed to acid reflux) , So I decided to see my cardiologist who recommended that I have a CT Angio Coronary Scan to rule out Angina and Coronary Artery Disease, as there is a higher risk of heart attacks or stroke with an MPN. Should I be concerned about the amount of radiation with this test as we are at a higher risk for a secondary cancer? Would appreciate any guidance, information, or input on this question! Thank you

[hunter5582]

I would not be worried about the level of radiation exposure for this procedure. The benefit of the evaluation is certainly clear. You will need the scan ot get to the bottom of what is going on.

I have experienced some significant chest pain that was related to GERD. Since I also had an arrhythmia, it was a bit trickier to figure out. One clue was that the chest pain would last for hours with no cardiac consequence. Another clue was that a GI Cocktail (Maalox + oral lidocaine) made the pain go away.

You are wise to not ignore the chest pain. Better safe than sorry. If it is GERD, then that should also be treated. This kind of damage/inflammation can cause reactive thombocytosis.

Please let us know what you learn and how you get on.

[EPguy]

Medical things are near always about risk/benefit. Preventing a heart attack would be a big benefit. This FDA reference has a table of radiation doses for various ct procedures. It seems you are getting the last one in the list, which has a surprisingly high dose. If you're concerned you could ask your Drs opinion on this and whether there are lower dose options.

fda.gov/radiation-emitting-...

I got the calcification scan a few years ago, this has a relatively low dose for a ct. It provides some info on the "Coronary Artery Disease" part of your Drs concern, but it seems your Dr wants to look deeper.

ct rad