Treating symptoms and not the disease...heart arrhythmias
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I went to a cardiologist with complaints of a noticeable arrhythmia upon exercise like brisk walking. After the usual exam and a EKG the doctor prescribed a beta blocker which effectively slowed my heart rate and without going into too much detail my heart slowed to a very low rate so I was instructed to split the dosage in 1/2 and take it twice a day rather than the full dose once a day. My concern is that he is treating the symptoms rather than the disease. He also prescribed a blood thinner Eliquis. The treatment has caused a general improvement but I get a sense that he is treating the symptom instead of possibly the disease. There can be many causes for arrhythmias and I feel that he should be exploring these further. Suppose I have Ischemic heart disease. What has he done to discover this? How can I explain that the meds he has put me on may simply mask some pathology that I might have. I have seen his associate as well who simply reviewed my chart and agreed with the treatment. I am a 72 year old male and I want to know what is causing my irregular heart beat upon exercise. It's hard to approach a doctor and say, "give me the proper test to make sure my issues are not related to blockages. A friend was given a stress test and then told his doctor "why do people get stress tests and then wind up with a heart attack days or weeks later. His doctor then explained that the stress test will only discover blockages exceeding 65% so he offered my friend an angiogram which is the acid test for non-electrical heart disease. He passed his angiogram with flying colors so blockages were ruled out as a cause which gave my friend peace of mind and allowed him to cope with his arrhymias and thus reduced his anxiety to the point where he no longer needed meds. I suppose I am asking why the medical community does not in my opinion adequately investigate causes but instead treat symptoms. Any suggestions or comments greatly appreciated.
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