Result meaning

Ok thanks, having thyroid checked next week, second ecg and scan clear.

Hi BB, I saw in the letter from the diabetes consultant that my heart problem could be due to ischaemia in turn due to my diabetes, but he did not tell me directly.  Saw the remark on the copy he sent to my doctor.   What is ischaemia?  How does it work, and can I do something to aliviate it, or, will I have to have it for life?

At the moment I get 7000 ectopics per day, but, the consultant said that it was not enough to damage my heart!  I am F 67. wish they went away for good one day! Had them for years, but, getting worse!

The dictionary definition of ischaemia is "... an inadequate blood supply to an organ or part of the body, especially the heart muscles​", this is usually due to (as I mentioned above) atherosclerosis "... the build up of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on your artery walls (plaques), ...". Well firstly ideally the condition should be confirmed, an angiogram is the gold standard test. But anyway. Alleviation. It depends. I'd recommend a two pronged approach, increased moderate exercise (like daily walking and - if possible - a weekly swim) and a daily antiplatelet medication (dispersible aspirin, an initial 300 mg loading dose then 75 mg a day). Well again it depends how serious any blockages are, if they're nothing to really worry about then the two pronged approach may be adequate​, but generally speaking as the blockages increase in seriousness then angioplasty with or without stents may be required and or at their worst bypass surgery​. 7000 ectopics says to me that there is, sadly, possibly a certain amount of irreversible damage​ to your heart so you may well suffer in some way for the rest of your life, but your condition could still be stabilized and or even improved somewhat by treating any ischaemia. I've personally undergone two sessions of angioplasty and stents and yes it's been quite successful (but it'll undoubtedly need repeating in the not too distant future).

Hope this helps  

Oh ​ If there are any terms you don't quite understand then the Patient search box (at the top of the page) is your friend  Take care

Hello BB. Thank you for your honest reply. One thing is that my cholesterol reading is 3.44, so, the cholesterol theory is thankfully out. Like you I had loads of tests, and angina has never been mentioned thank goodness. I agree that exercise is the best remedy. I decided to go for it as a kill or cure regime, and after all the health problems I had last year keeping me in bed for months,  I slowly started exercising, and now do 2h walking twice a week, 2h cycling twice a week, 2h swimming once a week, and a casual walk for only one hour on Sunday along the sea side.  Total:  13 hours exercising per week. At the beginning my heart could not cope with the input of extra energy I asked him to do, but, now he has started to give up his temper tantrums by giving a hard time.  Think that I have strengthen the actual heart muscle, and it has has some effects on the electrical system. I still have the ectopic episodes, but, they are lasting for 24 to 48 h in a row anymore.  I have a few at the time, with long periods of peace!! So, I would encourage people with ectopic to take the plunge and go for long walks, even if they go slowly like me, cycle, but, the best is swimming! It oblige you to breath properly, relaxes you, and I never had ectopic in the water!

Like you I have two stents in my body, but they are in my iliac vein, and therefore have to be on this horrible drug Rivaroxaban, for life! as to make sure that no blood clots form in the stents!  Charming!...

When I was in hospital, I saw some people coming back after they had some test which involve a camera going from the groin to the heart, and must say they were very sore! Did you have that done?  What is angioplasty?  You know, people don't know how they are lucky to have a good heart, but at least WE are not alone, and there are so many thins which can be done to help us, although I have refused the medecine they wanted to give me as, when I tried them first, they made things far worse!! As ectopic won't kill you, I decided to deal with it myself with cider vinegar, magnesium, molasses, Vit B12, Q10, but best of everything; exercise!!  We won't give up, will we......

Blimey, this sounds serious!  It is only the diabetes consultant who suggested it, and that without any test, he just looked at me with his ex-ray eyes I suppose!  He said that my ectopic could be due to my diabetes.  Pure guess I take it. Consultant should really be careful before throwing remarks like this, and more to the point, they should all agree on a diagnostic, and not give each give their inclines.... Having said that, I am sure they mean well by offering their own interpretation of our symptoms. PS: All people having any health problems would do good to eat only fresh vegetables and fruits, organic if you can get them, with meat and fish only once a week. Forget all processed food, and, if you can not eat the whole packet of biscuits or sweets, it is not worth keeping any at home, hence, avoiding the temptation. You will surprised how quickly you lose your taste for them......  Honest!!  You will lose weight, and exercise will become a real pleasure and keep you fit to do some more.....

Unfortunately high or low cholesterol it doesn't actually matter, over time everyone has some hardening. Congratulations on doing exercise, it really does help.

patient.info/health/coronary-angiography

patient.info/health/coronary-angioplasty-leaflet

I'm just on Clopidogrel to help inhibit blood clot formation, also my last stent was a drug-eluting type (to help slow any restenosis), and yes it's worked great compared to the earlier bare metal variety. I mean it's been over a year and I think I might get another 2 or 3 out of it rather than the 6 months out of the old ones.

Angioplasty has numerous names, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Coronary Revascularisation or just plain old Coronary Angioplasty​, but they're all basically the same thing. It's not normally that painful, they can go in via the crotch or either arm. I've had it 4 times, twice via one wrist, once via the other and once via the crotch. The worst you should expect is some stiffness or spasm afterwards.

​I think you are right, if one has heart or similar problems it's all too easy to think that you need to coddle yourself, wrap oneself in cotton wool and become more of a couch potato than what got you in the situation in the first place, obviously this is daft, folks should carry on as normally as possible.

Take care everyone

Hi BB.  Just replied to you, and lost the lot somehow!! grrrrrr. Was just saying that I was surprised to see that you have to change your stent so often, and why my stents in my common iliac vein has not got to be replaced?  (Spent 19h on a thrombolysis american machine, and bless the young surgeon who was the only one who accepted to take the high risk of performing the intervention). Perhaps they think that it is not worth it a my age?....... they also use a coated stent to avoid blood clots, And put me on Rivaroxaban just to make sure. (I hate this medicine, as, it can make you lose you hair, and being a female, I am not too happy  in the prospect! Been on it for a year now, and only noticed a slow gradual lost, which could be due to Spring season, or me getting older? Why are you not on Rivaroxaban like every body else? :-D .  You have a lot of knowledge, but there again you have to when you start having problems with your heart!! I admire your stoic way you deal with your situation, but once more, we haven't a lot of options in these matters!  How old are you if I may ask? Yes, I am going for it with a lot exercises, just showing my body who's boss.... Got nothing to lose.... Kill or cure is my attidude.