Doctor issue

Risky....

by BOBTHOM - 2018-08-28 14:45:35

Very risky but I've had issues with doctors as well.  Best that you can do is get copies of your tests and find out what it all means.  For blockages, one coctor may feel confident about using a stent while another doctor might insist on bypass.  The less invasive is the stent but if they get in there they may find that they need to rush you to bypass instead.  Again, get copies of all of your test results and start researching, but do it quickly because if you have a serious blockage you could drop in an instant.  Doesn't have to be physical stress, can be emotional, or something as simple as coughing to hard could trigger it.  Generally from what I've gathered if a blockage is under 75% they use meds and monitor, between 75% and 85-90% they use a stent, after that it's bypass.  So if your in that 85-90% range it's really at doctors discretion.  Please don't wait to long to have it addressed!  Good luck! 

There are lots of good doctors out there. Find someone you trust.

by Gotrhythm - 2018-08-28 14:59:27

I applaud your desire and willingness to research your options. Knowledge is power. I too would suspect any doctor who didn't respect my desire to make decisions for myself.

When you need a cardiologist and don't trust the one you've got, there's only one thing to do: go to someone else, preferably in different practice.

These days when travel is easy and you can get to anywhere on earth in 24 hours, don't think you are stuck with whoever is local. A teaching hospital where there will be a range of cardiology specialists is reachable by most people in the US.

If I  had one doctor tell me I needed bypass and one talk about a stent, I'd want another opinion too. But here's the thing you can't afford to ignore, two cardiologists have told you you need to do something. Find another cardiologist soon.

Blockage

by AgentX86 - 2018-08-28 16:51:46

You've now been told by two cardiologists that you have blocked cardiac arteries and don't believe them and you're looking for some stranger, who isn't a professional, to tell you what you want to hear? Sorry, that's not me. I'm not about to tell you what you want to hear just so you can commit suicide.

You have a choice, go with the guy who wants to cut you open, with the guy who thinks he can stent the blockage (but might be wrong), or suffer along and quite possibly die. Your choice.

I smell lawsuit...

by ROBO Pop - 2018-08-28 19:00:56

Yep, no doubt about it, somebody's going to sue you for practicing medicine without a license. Nah, not really, but my point is they have documentation to prove you have blockage and two doctors diagnosed you. There're three options, by-pass surgery, implant stent(s), or dearly departed we are gathered in rememberance.

No question there are some poor doctors out there and rest assured I've had a couple, but you had two doctors diagnose you and they did a catheterization. All you have to do is ask to see the images of the blockage, and frankly they usually have video. When mine was done I watched as the smoke stream stopped in various branches of arteries. Hard to mistake a blockage. 

It seems society has gotten to the point where we are willing to believe anything a politician throws out, in spite of evidence, and yet we refuse to believe and trust our doctors.

Pull your head out, oh wait maybe that's the blockage they saw. 

take it seriously

by Tracey_E - 2018-08-28 19:04:22

Electrical problems cause a slow heart rate and are treated with a pacer.  60 is normal so you can trust that you needed the pacer, you were less than half that. Electrical problems are how fast the heart is beating.

Heart failure is how hard the heart is beating, how much of the blood is being pushed out when it beats. This is unrelated to how fast it's beating. The pacer makes it beat faster but it can't make it beat harder. 

Caths that show the inside of the arteries which is how much blood is flowing. When the blood leaves the heart, this is how much room it has to get to the rest of your body. 

Three separate problems, only one of which is fixed with a pacer.  If your heart is not beating hard enough and your arteries are blocked, you can die. Sorry to be blunt, but this is very very serious. Stents may help with the arteries, if stents don't work then bypass is necessary. Meds will help with the heart failure. These are all big giant warning signs that you can have a heart attack and die. If you don't trust the doctors treating you, then find another one, but what they told you is consistent so I would be very hesitant to wait to get it fixed. You are literally gambling with your life. Lots of people feel great right up until they have that heart attack.