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No diagnosis but something is wrong

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SusieWoozy
SusieWoozy

Hello all - I am a 52-year-old female and have been having problems with constant tiredness and shortness of breath for at least a year now, and this is getting worse.  A few weeks ago, I went for a walk with my husband which involved walking up a short but fairly steep hill.  I had to stop several times during the climb and at the end I felt that I was going to pass out and couldn't go on.  I felt like I literally couldn't put one foot in front of the other.

Until recently I was sleeping OK but I have now started waking up in the night with a feeling that I can't breathe and a dry cough.  I get out of breath walking from my house to the bus stop, which is a distance of less than 100 yards.  I have also put on a lot of weight in the last few weeks, all around my upper abdomen. It feels fairly solid to the touch, a bit like when you are heavily pregnant, and not soft like fat would be. 

I have been to see the practice nurse at my GP's surgery, and she did a lung function test, the results of which were so poor she couldn't believe I had never smoked in my life!  My BP was 160/100, even though I am on 4 mg of Perindopril a day for high blood pressure.  She gave me the impression she just thought I was unfit and overweight, but I know something is wrong as I don't feel right; I am having palpitations and I feel as though I am breathing against an invisible force pushing down on my chest.  She did check my feet and ankles to see if there was evidence of any water retention, but my ankles and feet are as skinny as ever - all the weight seems to have gone on around my chest.

I am waiting for the results of a recent chest x-ray, and I am almost hoping that it does reveal something just so that I can get this sorted. The symptoms I have are similar to those my mother had before she went into heart failure - but she was over 80.

I have been googling my symptoms (ie. doing just what the doctors seem to hate people doing!) and I seem to have all the symptoms of either heart valve problems or congestive heart failure, minus the swollen ankles and legs.  Is it possible to have a heart problem but have no water retention in the legs and feet?

Also, I had a bad bout of scarlet fever at the age of 5 and am seeing mixed opinions on whether this may have contributed to possible heart problems.

 

0 likes, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • leila68
    leila68 SusieWoozy

    Posted

    Have you had ECG could it be angina . I had no problems only breathing heavy and I ended up in hospital with quadruple heart bypass . So keep on . You know your body .
  • SusieWoozy
    SusieWoozy

    Posted

    Thank you all for your helpful comments. Still no sign of my chest x-ray results unfortunately. No change in my symptoms but at least I'm not getting any worse! I will post again when I get some news. Lying on an extra pillow definitely helps as lying flat seems to "compress" my chest and makes breathing harder.

    Lyn1951, I'm glad your husband had such a good outcome!

    Best wishes all

    • linda346
      linda346 SusieWoozy

      Posted

      Let us know when you get your X-ray results, take care - sending happy thoughts!
  • SusieWoozy
    SusieWoozy

    Posted

    Hi all  Well, the chest x-ray has come back normal but I am still having the shortness of breath, palpitations etc. so I need to see the doctor to see where we go from here.  I am going to push for an ECG - a stress ECG if possible so that they can see the effect that exercise has on me.  As usual the doctor is fully booked up all this week and next, so I am having to phone first thing tomorrow to get an appointment.

    Over the past few days I have been doing a little more research, and it seems that there may be a possbile connection with joint hypermobility!  I have always had hyperextending wrists, elbows, knees and ankles throughout my life (my "party trick" at school was to be able to stand with one foot facing forwards and the other rotated through 180 degrees).  It caused a few problems at school, but since then it hasn't really given me much grief since then until recently (I fell down a flight of stairs at work after going over on my ankle).

    Apparently, this can cause weakness in the heart valves (particularly the mitral valve) and also symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, which I have, though I never connected it with with my other symptoms, and, importantly: "Shortness of breath, perhaps diagnosed as asthma because the symptoms seem the same, but not responding to inhalers in the way the doctor might have expected, because it is not true asthma;"

    I will be going to the doctor armed with this information and will let you know how I get on.

    Best wishes to all

  • SusieWoozy
    SusieWoozy

    Posted

    Further to my previous posts, it looks as though my heart is functioning perfectly OK, which is a huge relief to me, I am not sure how, since I have never smoked, but I have COPD!   Not the best outcome, but at least I have an answer.  I have been given a Spiolto Respimat inhaler which has made a massive, massive difference to my breathing and I do feel that I can now do a little more exercise, which should help shift the extra weight.

    I will therefore now leave the Cardiovascular Disorders forum, but first let me thank everyone who has taken the time to reply to me and wish you all the very very best.

    • linda346
      linda346 SusieWoozy

      Posted

      well as you say, not the best outcome but I guess it could have been a lot worse and at least your heart is in good order!  I am so glad you now have a diagnosis and that the inhaler is helping your breathing and giving you more energy.  I send my very best wishes for your continued good health.
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