Failed Stress Test - Angiogram needed

[Bill Perry]

I have been having mild angina symptoms while walking uphill for over
a year now. I went to a private cardiologist this week and received a
stress test on a tredmill and a echo cardiogram that seemed to
indicate blockage in one of the heart vessels. The cardiologist gave
me a prescription for Nitro-tabs and recommended an immediate
angiogram to further isolate the problem. The pain usually develops in
about 3 minutes of fast uphill walking and occasionally on level
ground if I am tired. It's not really a pain, but more of a mild ache
in the chest that gets intense if I continue to excercise and subsides
quickly if I stand still or sit down for a minute or two.

I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21, the earliest they
had, but it will be with a primary care physician. They gave me an
emergency number if I have problems before then. I haven't had any
further symptoms now that I'm taking it easy and walking slowly and I
can usually do 2 or 3 miles on level ground at moderate speed.

I suspect my condition is related to tobacco use although the
cardiologist didn't have much time to discuss the subject since the
waiting room was full. I smoked for 25 years and then switched to
chewing tobacco 15 years ago. I was thinking smokeless tobacco was far
less a problem than smoking, but there seems to be some relation of
nicotine use and arterial blockage.

Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
arterial blockage?

BP

[Bill]

"Bill Perry" <Bill_Perry@att.net> wrote in message
news:33905e7c.0312042301.192a01a7@posting.google.com...
> I have been having mild angina symptoms while walking uphill for over
> a year now. I went to a private cardiologist this week and received a
> stress test on a tredmill and a echo cardiogram that seemed to
> indicate blockage in one of the heart vessels. The cardiologist gave
> me a prescription for Nitro-tabs and recommended an immediate
> angiogram to further isolate the problem. The pain usually develops in
> about 3 minutes of fast uphill walking and occasionally on level
> ground if I am tired. It's not really a pain, but more of a mild ache
> in the chest that gets intense if I continue to excercise and subsides
> quickly if I stand still or sit down for a minute or two.
>
> I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21, the earliest they
> had, but it will be with a primary care physician. They gave me an
> emergency number if I have problems before then. I haven't had any
> further symptoms now that I'm taking it easy and walking slowly and I
> can usually do 2 or 3 miles on level ground at moderate speed.
>
> I suspect my condition is related to tobacco use although the
> cardiologist didn't have much time to discuss the subject since the
> waiting room was full. I smoked for 25 years and then switched to
> chewing tobacco 15 years ago. I was thinking smokeless tobacco was far
> less a problem than smoking, but there seems to be some relation of
> nicotine use and arterial blockage.
>
> Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
> arterial blockage?
>
> BP

This is from:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002032.htm

For smokeless tobacco users, the specific health risks include:

a.. nicotine addiction
b.. decreased senses of taste and smell
c.. in pregnancy, increased fetal death, premature labor, low birthweight
infants, and SIDS
d.. oral/tooth/gum diseases -- including a 50 times greater risk for oral
cancer with long-term or regular use
e.. coronary artery disease -- angina, heart attacks
f.. atherosclerotic and peripheral vascular disease -- aneurysms,
hypertension, blood clots, strokes


And why are you not getting the immediate angiogram the cardiologist
recommended? The odds are fairly high that you have a partially blocked
artery. If that should become fully blocked you will have a heart attack. You
should probably be taking an aspirin a day unless you have some kind of
bleeding problem. I would also stop the smokeless tobacco. If you have any
questions/issues at all you should call the cardiologist. And a full waiting
room does not mean the he or she should not give you the appropriate amount of
time. This is life or death. Not a skinned knee.

Bill

[Bogie]

Bill_Perry@att.net (Bill Perry) wrote in message news:<33905e7c.0312042301.192a01a7@posting.google.com>...
> I have been having mild angina symptoms while walking uphill for over
> a year now. I went to a private cardiologist this week and received a
> stress test on a tredmill and a echo cardiogram that seemed to
> indicate blockage in one of the heart vessels. The cardiologist gave
> me a prescription for Nitro-tabs and recommended an immediate
> angiogram to further isolate the problem. The pain usually develops in
> about 3 minutes of fast uphill walking and occasionally on level
> ground if I am tired. It's not really a pain, but more of a mild ache
> in the chest that gets intense if I continue to excercise and subsides
> quickly if I stand still or sit down for a minute or two.
>
> I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21, the earliest they
> had, but it will be with a primary care physician. They gave me an
> emergency number if I have problems before then. I haven't had any
> further symptoms now that I'm taking it easy and walking slowly and I
> can usually do 2 or 3 miles on level ground at moderate speed.
>
> I suspect my condition is related to tobacco use although the
> cardiologist didn't have much time to discuss the subject since the
> waiting room was full. I smoked for 25 years and then switched to
> chewing tobacco 15 years ago. I was thinking smokeless tobacco was far
> less a problem than smoking, but there seems to be some relation of
> nicotine use and arterial blockage.
>
> Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
> arterial blockage?
>
> BP

I don't know anything about the 2 kind of tobacco's but I do
understand your problem. My story started almost just like yours. I
love to run/jog/walk. Last year while I was jogging I too felt the
"pain" in my chest.It used to appear about 5 minutes into my jog. I
used to be able to "work through it", but that soon changed. When it
was time to go into the hospital, my body knew it! After a stress test
I went in for my first cath/stent. I have been cursed with a body that
produces scar tissue FAST...and alot of it. I had a quad bypass 1.5
months ago and now 2 are completly blocked. I used to smoke also. I
smoked for 22 yrs, quitting 11 yrs ago. I know my condition is
hereditary in nature........plus some. I wish you much luck and
health. I'm searching for an answer for my own hell too. Don't stop
looking, till you feel better Please and thanx, Bogie

[Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD]

Bill Perry wrote:

> I have been having mild angina symptoms while walking uphill for over
> a year now. I went to a private cardiologist this week and received a
> stress test on a tredmill and a echo cardiogram that seemed to
> indicate blockage in one of the heart vessels. The cardiologist gave
> me a prescription for Nitro-tabs and recommended an immediate
> angiogram to further isolate the problem. The pain usually develops in
> about 3 minutes of fast uphill walking and occasionally on level
> ground if I am tired. It's not really a pain, but more of a mild ache
> in the chest that gets intense if I continue to excercise and subsides
> quickly if I stand still or sit down for a minute or two.
>

Does sound like angina pectoris.

>
> I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21, the earliest they
> had, but it will be with a primary care physician. They gave me an
> emergency number if I have problems before then. I haven't had any
> further symptoms now that I'm taking it easy and walking slowly and I
> can usually do 2 or 3 miles on level ground at moderate speed.
>
> I suspect my condition is related to tobacco use although the
> cardiologist didn't have much time to discuss the subject since the
> waiting room was full. I smoked for 25 years and then switched to
> chewing tobacco 15 years ago. I was thinking smokeless tobacco was far
> less a problem than smoking, but there seems to be some relation of
> nicotine use and arterial blockage.
>
> Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
> arterial blockage?
>

There is not a strong one. I would guess that other things like
hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, metabolic syndrome may have been
behind your developing coronary disease.

Humbly,

Andrew

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com/

[Bill Perry]

"Bill" <xxx@yy.zz> wrote in message news:<ekXzb.38441$U56.4707@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com>...
> "Bill Perry" <Bill_Perry@att.net> wrote in message
>>
>> Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
>> arterial blockage?
>>
>> BP
>
> This is from:
>
> http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002032.htm
>
> For smokeless tobacco users, the specific health risks include:
>
> a.. nicotine addiction
> b.. decreased senses of taste and smell
> c.. in pregnancy, increased fetal death, premature labor, low birthweight
> infants, and SIDS
> d.. oral/tooth/gum diseases -- including a 50 times greater risk for oral
> cancer with long-term or regular use
> e.. coronary artery disease -- angina, heart attacks
> f.. atherosclerotic and peripheral vascular disease -- aneurysms,
> hypertension, blood clots, strokes
>
>
> And why are you not getting the immediate angiogram the cardiologist
> recommended? The odds are fairly high that you have a partially blocked
> artery. If that should become fully blocked you will have a heart attack. You
> should probably be taking an aspirin a day unless you have some kind of
> bleeding problem. I would also stop the smokeless tobacco. If you have any
> questions/issues at all you should call the cardiologist. And a full waiting
> room does not mean the he or she should not give you the appropriate amount of
> time. This is life or death. Not a skinned knee.
>
> Bill

I'm taking 250mg of asprin twice a day, once in the morning and
another about 5PM. I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21,
to see a general practioneer who will probably refer the case
to another cardiologist. I plan to visit the VA hospital
next week and explain the situation in person to see if things can
be speeded up. I can go in for emergency treatment but it doesn't
appear to be an emergency unless I fake it. I'll try and get the
cardiologist to notify the VA of the details so I can get in on
emergency basis, or at least he can give me the data he has to
take with me. If he thinks it's real urgent, and I tell him I want
to go to the VA, maybe he will help out. He just seemed to be too busy
to explain all the possibilities, and I didn't want to argue with him.
I hadn't seen him before, and haven't seen any doctors for several years,
I just went directly to a cardiologist based on my own symptoms.

-Bill

[Bill]

"Bill Perry" <Bill_Perry@att.net> wrote in message
news:33905e7c.0312062141.59e38a20@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" <xxx@yy.zz> wrote in message
news:<ekXzb.38441$U56.4707@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com>...
> > "Bill Perry" <Bill_Perry@att.net> wrote in message
> >>
> >> Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
> >> arterial blockage?
> >>
> >> BP
> >
> > This is from:
> >
> > http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002032.htm
> >
> > For smokeless tobacco users, the specific health risks include:
> >
> > a.. nicotine addiction
> > b.. decreased senses of taste and smell
> > c.. in pregnancy, increased fetal death, premature labor, low
birthweight
> > infants, and SIDS
> > d.. oral/tooth/gum diseases -- including a 50 times greater risk for
oral
> > cancer with long-term or regular use
> > e.. coronary artery disease -- angina, heart attacks
> > f.. atherosclerotic and peripheral vascular disease -- aneurysms,
> > hypertension, blood clots, strokes
> >
> >
> > And why are you not getting the immediate angiogram the cardiologist
> > recommended? The odds are fairly high that you have a partially blocked
> > artery. If that should become fully blocked you will have a heart attack.
You
> > should probably be taking an aspirin a day unless you have some kind of
> > bleeding problem. I would also stop the smokeless tobacco. If you have any
> > questions/issues at all you should call the cardiologist. And a full
waiting
> > room does not mean the he or she should not give you the appropriate
amount of
> > time. This is life or death. Not a skinned knee.
> >
> > Bill
>
> I'm taking 250mg of asprin twice a day, once in the morning and
> another about 5PM. I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21,
> to see a general practioneer who will probably refer the case
> to another cardiologist. I plan to visit the VA hospital
> next week and explain the situation in person to see if things can
> be speeded up. I can go in for emergency treatment but it doesn't
> appear to be an emergency unless I fake it. I'll try and get the
> cardiologist to notify the VA of the details so I can get in on
> emergency basis, or at least he can give me the data he has to
> take with me. If he thinks it's real urgent, and I tell him I want
> to go to the VA, maybe he will help out. He just seemed to be too busy
> to explain all the possibilities, and I didn't want to argue with him.
> I hadn't seen him before, and haven't seen any doctors for several years,
> I just went directly to a cardiologist based on my own symptoms.
>
> -Bill

Good luck, it sounds like you are doing some good things. And don't be
reluctant to raise any issues or concerns. Or to make a phone call, if you
think that will help you. You really are owed decent care.

You might want to raise the smokeless tobacco question with one of your Drs.
also.

Bill

[D. Best]

I am not sure how accurate this information is but my cardiologist told me
that nicotine, in any form, causes the blood platlets to become 'tacky'
and hence more likely to stick to artery walls and each other thus creating
narrowing arteries or blockages. Nicotine is not good. He told me to never
do two things again ... smoke or eat fast food. Good luck ...

doug

--
-d. best-
Exercise Your Mind, Body & Freedoms
"Bill Perry" <Bill_Perry@att.net> wrote in message
news:33905e7c.0312042301.192a01a7@posting.google.com...
> I have been having mild angina symptoms while walking uphill for over
> a year now. I went to a private cardiologist this week and received a
> stress test on a tredmill and a echo cardiogram that seemed to
> indicate blockage in one of the heart vessels. The cardiologist gave
> me a prescription for Nitro-tabs and recommended an immediate
> angiogram to further isolate the problem. The pain usually develops in
> about 3 minutes of fast uphill walking and occasionally on level
> ground if I am tired. It's not really a pain, but more of a mild ache
> in the chest that gets intense if I continue to excercise and subsides
> quickly if I stand still or sit down for a minute or two.
>
> I have an appointment at the VA hospital Jan 21, the earliest they
> had, but it will be with a primary care physician. They gave me an
> emergency number if I have problems before then. I haven't had any
> further symptoms now that I'm taking it easy and walking slowly and I
> can usually do 2 or 3 miles on level ground at moderate speed.
>
> I suspect my condition is related to tobacco use although the
> cardiologist didn't have much time to discuss the subject since the
> waiting room was full. I smoked for 25 years and then switched to
> chewing tobacco 15 years ago. I was thinking smokeless tobacco was far
> less a problem than smoking, but there seems to be some relation of
> nicotine use and arterial blockage.
>
> Does anyone understand the relationship of smokeless tobacco and
> arterial blockage?
>
> BP