33% ejection fraction on heart CT scan!
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hello there! I'm a 30 years old female, normal weight, fitness freak, smoker. I've had severe chest pain 2 months ago (with shoulder pain, difficulty breathing and rapid heart beat), went to the doc and made a heart CT scan. Everything appears normal, no blockages, no heart modifications, just an ejection fraction of 33%. Any ideas? My doctor says it's nothing wrong with that because there are no modifications...But sice then i've been tired all the time and my resting bpm is around 95 (used to be 60, because i run around 25 miles/week)
Have you heard of anything like that before? It can be a low ejection fraction and a healthy heart in the same time?
0 likes, 6 replies
gloria12683 mihaela13
Posted
Yes an ejection fraction of 33% is a lot lower than it should be. Do you think you may have thick blood? I had a lot of these episodes before I had a heart attack due to a blood clot. Prior to my heart attack my blood was quite thick.
Regards
Gloria
mihaela13 gloria12683
Posted
My blood is somewhat on bordeline. It's just under the warning values of thickness and doctors said they don't have to give me anticoagulants. That was a few monts ago, now they did'n seem to care enough to see how thick my blood is
I hope you are OK now. Do you happen to know what your EF was before the heart attack?
Something happend 2 months ago, for sure. I'm tired all the time and I make an effort to do my daily routine. I just hope they did the CT scan by the book and did't miss a cardiovasculat event...
gloria12683 mihaela13
Posted
I do not know what my EF function was before the heart attack. It is now 25% which I think is not too bad if I consider that 75% of my muscle died.
You are probably right that you experienced a heart attack two months ago. I am not a doctor but you may have had a blood clot to the heart that was able to pass naturally. Albeit after it caused some damage.
Does your doctor have you on any heart medication? If not ask your doctor to a referral to a cardiologist. If he will not give you one go and see another doctor, try and find a GP that has a great deal of experience in heart conditions.
It is good that there is no muscle damage. Apparently there is a lot they can do to get your EF function higher.
One day it would be therapeutic for me to express the abuse and neglect I received during my treatment.
Regards
Gloria
68survivor mihaela13
Posted
mihaela13
Posted
That's right, i need more answers. And my increased heart rate is a real problem, i can't run anymore...
I've been to another cardiologist today, he did an echocardiogram and first good news is my EF seen on CT is wrong, as i suspected. The ejection fraction is 60, i tend to believe this investigation. On the other hand, se saw some kind of mitral valve prolapse, so he said is a minimal mitral insufficiency, but nothing to worry about. I have to do some blood work and see a lung specialist, as he suspects a pulmonary hypertension.
Now, i know i don't have to think that they all are a bunch of incompetents, but if you google search "minimal mitral insufficiency", you can see that the first symptoms are difficult breathing (especially with efort), increased heart rate and caugh. I have all of these, plus some dizziness (probably normal, as i cannot breathe).
As i said to the doctor, all i want is to be able to breathe normal and to run. That's all. Any thoughts? I'll do my bloodwork tomorrow and schedule an appointment for lungs.
68survivor mihaela13
Posted
Well done for being persistent! You need the answers that will fully explain your symptoms and, hopefully lead to effective intervention. It will hopefullly be more clear with a blood analysis and pehaps lung function tests. Oh, and by the way though i deliberately refrained from mention yesterday: do try hard to quit smoking. Heart/Lung benefits are enormous! Good luck!