Texanbarbie
Member
Hi everyone. I’ve been perusing this forum for a few weeks now and decided it was time to introduce myself and ask some questions. First I want to thank everyone for the very informative posts !
A little background info: I had a chest CT in 2008 for shortness of breath and a 4.4 cm ascending aortic aneurysm was discovered so was sent for an echocardiogram a week later. The echo showed a bicuspid valve, mild mitral regurgitation, moderate tricuspid regurgitation and mild aortic regurgitation, and mild dilation of right atrium. My GP never discussed these findings and I only found out by getting my own copy of the echo. Meanwhile I moved to another state and was still experiencing SOB so visited another GP and had another echo which showed mild mitral and tricuspid insufficiency and mild right atrial enlargement. This GP also never discussed these findings so I got my copy of the echo and decided I must be okay, otherwise, wouldn’t one of the GPs tell me?
Fast forward to 2011. I was having some lower abdominal pains and my gastroenterologist had me scanned (can’t remember if it was an MRI) and there was something in my lungs he couldn’t identify so he sent me to a pulmonologist who sent me for a chest CT and it showed the ascending aortic aneurysm at 4.3 cm. However, he never said anything about this. He actually sent me to a thoracic surgeon to see if I should have a lung biopsy. Thankfully, this surgeon told me that having a BAV as well as the aneurysm warranted me seeing a cardiologist. So that’s where I have been - - seeing a cardiologist every year for an MRA and a visit to refill my Losartan 25 mg. since 2011. Except after this last visit. My cardiologist told me I needed at least 30 minutes of real exercise which will get my heart pumping - - not just the walking and gardening that I currently do. So, I started riding an exercise bike to warm up, then walking/jogging on a treadmill. The first day I rode the bike I had to stop after 1 minute because I was so out of breathe. I thought, man, I’m really out of shape! (which I’m actually not, I use to run 3 or 4 times a week, until my knees wore out) Anyway, I tried the bike again the next day, then the next and the same thing happened. After I caught my breath, I eventually walked and jogged on the treadmill and it wasn’t real bad, but bad enough. The next week I tried it again for 2 days and the same thing happened. So I called my cardiologist and he sent me for a nuclear stress test which came back normal except the LVEF was 82%. His nurse called me and said the test was normal and when I asked about the high LVEF, she said that was great - the higher, the better! When I told her that 82% was not in the normal range, she asked a cardiologist standing next to her (not mine) and he told her it was probably due to my fasting for the test. What ???? Anyway, I told her I still needed the SOB checked out so after talking with my cardiologist, they scheduled me for an echo for this Thursday.
Anyone have any comments on the high LVEF? I also have almost fainted a few times in the last few months (while shore fishing) and now have developed a dry cough. My blood pressure is mostly low - - today it was 95/68.
Another question I have is which is more accurate for measuring the size of the aneurysm - MRA or CT? The CTs came back with 4.3 and 4.4 while the MRA has come back 4.0 and 4.1.
Also, after looking at my records, I’ve noticed in addition to the dilation of the ascending aorta, the measurement of the sinus of valsalva has grown from 3.2 cm in 2008 to 4.07 in 2014. I’m scheduled for my annual MRA next month which should give new readiings.
Thanks again for this great forum and for the wealth of knowledge I’ve acquired! Up until I developed the recent SOB, I never thought about the BAV or aneurysm. I was only told by my first cardiologist that when it gets to 5.0 I would need surgery and they would repair the BAV also. I changed cardiologist to one in my local area and he NEVER talks about the BAV or aneurysm. After my yearly EKG and MRA he tells me everything looks fine, get more exercise and see you in a year.
A little background info: I had a chest CT in 2008 for shortness of breath and a 4.4 cm ascending aortic aneurysm was discovered so was sent for an echocardiogram a week later. The echo showed a bicuspid valve, mild mitral regurgitation, moderate tricuspid regurgitation and mild aortic regurgitation, and mild dilation of right atrium. My GP never discussed these findings and I only found out by getting my own copy of the echo. Meanwhile I moved to another state and was still experiencing SOB so visited another GP and had another echo which showed mild mitral and tricuspid insufficiency and mild right atrial enlargement. This GP also never discussed these findings so I got my copy of the echo and decided I must be okay, otherwise, wouldn’t one of the GPs tell me?
Fast forward to 2011. I was having some lower abdominal pains and my gastroenterologist had me scanned (can’t remember if it was an MRI) and there was something in my lungs he couldn’t identify so he sent me to a pulmonologist who sent me for a chest CT and it showed the ascending aortic aneurysm at 4.3 cm. However, he never said anything about this. He actually sent me to a thoracic surgeon to see if I should have a lung biopsy. Thankfully, this surgeon told me that having a BAV as well as the aneurysm warranted me seeing a cardiologist. So that’s where I have been - - seeing a cardiologist every year for an MRA and a visit to refill my Losartan 25 mg. since 2011. Except after this last visit. My cardiologist told me I needed at least 30 minutes of real exercise which will get my heart pumping - - not just the walking and gardening that I currently do. So, I started riding an exercise bike to warm up, then walking/jogging on a treadmill. The first day I rode the bike I had to stop after 1 minute because I was so out of breathe. I thought, man, I’m really out of shape! (which I’m actually not, I use to run 3 or 4 times a week, until my knees wore out) Anyway, I tried the bike again the next day, then the next and the same thing happened. After I caught my breath, I eventually walked and jogged on the treadmill and it wasn’t real bad, but bad enough. The next week I tried it again for 2 days and the same thing happened. So I called my cardiologist and he sent me for a nuclear stress test which came back normal except the LVEF was 82%. His nurse called me and said the test was normal and when I asked about the high LVEF, she said that was great - the higher, the better! When I told her that 82% was not in the normal range, she asked a cardiologist standing next to her (not mine) and he told her it was probably due to my fasting for the test. What ???? Anyway, I told her I still needed the SOB checked out so after talking with my cardiologist, they scheduled me for an echo for this Thursday.
Anyone have any comments on the high LVEF? I also have almost fainted a few times in the last few months (while shore fishing) and now have developed a dry cough. My blood pressure is mostly low - - today it was 95/68.
Another question I have is which is more accurate for measuring the size of the aneurysm - MRA or CT? The CTs came back with 4.3 and 4.4 while the MRA has come back 4.0 and 4.1.
Also, after looking at my records, I’ve noticed in addition to the dilation of the ascending aorta, the measurement of the sinus of valsalva has grown from 3.2 cm in 2008 to 4.07 in 2014. I’m scheduled for my annual MRA next month which should give new readiings.
Thanks again for this great forum and for the wealth of knowledge I’ve acquired! Up until I developed the recent SOB, I never thought about the BAV or aneurysm. I was only told by my first cardiologist that when it gets to 5.0 I would need surgery and they would repair the BAV also. I changed cardiologist to one in my local area and he NEVER talks about the BAV or aneurysm. After my yearly EKG and MRA he tells me everything looks fine, get more exercise and see you in a year.
