OT: Aortic dissection

[VeeEnn]

@FCorelli

@intercst

I asked my PCP for the referral, and we’re justifying it on my Bradycardia (slow resting heart rate) It’s usually around 50, but sometimes goes as low as 45 or so. All my doctors to date attribute the bradycardia to the fact that I get a lot of exercise, and the half dozen or so EKGs I’ve had over the years have all been normal.

Don’t feel too confident. I was the same way.

WORD!!!

Per the fullsome praise on the state of your (@intercst ) abdominal aorta, it’s good to remember that a one off, one spot visualization isn’t necessarily a proxy for the health of the rest of your cardiovascular system in either the here and now…or in the foreseeable future. These one off screenings are great if they show pathology you wouldn’t otherwise be aware of (my CAC scan and subsequent CT coronary angiogram)…but can lead to an awful lot of complacency if the test comes up negative.

Fortunately for me, I had a nagging doubt that my past physicians placed too much faith in my account … and physical appearance … of a Truly Righteous lifestyle (dietary and exercise) and didn’t ponder the idea that I might have a genetic predisposition to my hypercholesterolemia.

Edit:…I’m also in your position with low heart rate and medication use. In my running days my RHR was in the 40s. Has climbed a bit with age and less running to low 50s. Leaves me (and my cardiologist) balancing meds in a way that wouldn’t be necessary if I were a Committed Couchlandrian. Even a near homeopathic dose of Sotolol has my heart rate low enough that I am at the mercy of postural hypotension…especially in the heat (and that’s at altitude…trips to anywhere at sea level have to be managed accordingly) Overnight oftentimes drops into the 40s and that in itself can precipitate a run of ectopic beats that wakes me up in a bit of a panic.

Here you go…this last week’s RHR averages and today’s ambient HR…

[WendyBG]

@FCorelli

UPSIDE: The heart attack was a plaque rupture in aright side artery… BUT the 2 major ones on the left side were almost entirely blocked.

@FCorelli out of curiosity…what did you do after that?

Wendy

[VeeEnn]

Actually, @WendyBG … such “super athleticism” that I once possessed is definitely in my rear view mirror these days. I can most definitely attest that the late 60s/early 70s have an exponential decline in ability to recover from injury, surgery…or even a brief layoff from training. I wasn’t aware of this at, say, age 68. Thought such statements were excuses for less effort. Now I’ve learned that physiology is a Science for a reason…and it applies to me.!

[FCorelli]

I got a stent in the right side artery with the heart attack and stents in the other 2 stable plaque nearly-blocked arteries on the left. Spent 46 hours in the hospital and was released.

[TucsonBones]

@intercst

a lot more radiation with a CT scan than an x-ray

A chest x ray isn’t gonna show you anything unless your aneurysm is gigantic. An alternative would be a transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) but there are limitations to visualization. Better yet, Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) . If you have a history of vascular disease, a contrast CT is the gold standard by far. The risk/benefit ratio far outweighs the X-ray exposure