Heart Attack, or Angina or ?

September 2nd, 2010 by admin

II am a 39 year old woman, slightly overweight(but working on this with WW) and have had for the past year or so some pain in my left arm, sometimes chest and sometimes back (always in arm) this pain comes and goes, usually worse when I am stressed. It is not constant, but when it is HERE it feels like a tight squeezing sharpness(kinda hard to describe)…sometimes this pressure radiates to the back. I have been seen by my doctor for lightheadedness/vertigo and tingling in my feet and hands, the doctor did an MRI which was clear (she was looking for MS) I had not mentioned the pain in the arm/chest and back cause I was so concerned with the dizziness and tingling/numbness….last night after a stressful argument with spouse I had the strong painful feeling in my arm again and as I "tried" to go to sleep the pain went to my back (not unbearable pain, but uncomfortable) and my heart felt like it was beating really fast. I called my dr today to get an appt, she is not in til tomorrow and doesn’t have any openings tomorrow so I will have to call back in the morning to try to get an urgent/same day appt. The nurse wanted me to talk to triage but the put me on hold….I am worried, but also wonder am I just being paranoid and a hypochondriac…

No you are not paranoid at all, and next time you have these symptoms you’d better get to the ER fast. These are classical symptoms of a heart disease.
In the mean time, take a baby aspirin pill everyday, as clinical data suggest it helps in case of a heart attack.

Posted in angina attack | 7 Comments »

what is EECP ? is it scientifically prooved concept?

September 2nd, 2010 by admin

enhanced external counter pulsation- a treatment module for a chronic angina/post bye pass angina

External counterpulsation (ECP) is a procedure performed on individuals with ischemic cardiomyopathy in order to diminish the symptoms of their ischemia. In various studies, ECP has been shown to relieve angina, improve exercise tolerance, and decrease the degree of ischemia in a cardiac stress test.

Yes it is scientifically proved concept. While an individual is undergoing ECP, they have pneumatic stockings (also known as cuffs) on their legs and are connected to telemetry monitors that monitor their heart rate and rhythm. The most common type in use involves three cuffs placed on each leg (on the calfs, the lower thighs, and the upper thighs (or buttock)). The cuffs are timed to inflate and deflate based on the individual’s electrocardiogram. The cuffs should ideally inflate at the beginning of diastole and deflate at the beginning of systole. During the inflation portion of the cycle, the calf cuffs inflate first, then the lower thigh cuffs and finally the upper thigh cuffs. Inflation is controlled by a pressure monitor, and the cuffs are inflated to about 300 mmHg.

When timed correctly, this will decrease the afterload that the heart has to pump against, and increase the preload that fills the heart, increasing the cardiac output. In this way, ECP is similar to the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). Since it increases pressure in the aorta while the heart is relaxing (during diastole) ECP also increases blood flow into the coronary arteries, which also occurs during that phase.

Hope this piece of information satisfies your needs.
Thanks

Posted in angina treatment | 2 Comments »

can angina pectoris kill you?

September 2nd, 2010 by admin

angina pectoris is a symptom not a disease. If you have chest pain it could be from a heart attack or from other diseases like heart failure. The chest pain won’t kill you but the cause of the chest pain can.

Posted in angina pectoris | 4 Comments »

Katz Cardiomedical Centers

September 2nd, 2010 by admin

Jose Katz, M.D., Ph.D., Board Certified in Cardiology with over 20 years’ experience in Cardiovascular Diseases, and cardiac rehabilitation. Dr. Katz has extensive experience in EECP, opening his first clinic over 6 years ago