Cardiac Catherization

lmt03367 - You're welcome. Another option to consider, if it fits with your insurance, budget, etc., is the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. They take a holistic approach and you get the benefit of their role as a teaching organization. Patients there get far more time with clinical professionals than they do with most healthcare providers. http://www.mayoclinic.org/cardiovascular-disease/

In Arizona they have a library and patient education materials that are available to the general public, whether they are Mayo patients or not. You may want to contact them to see if they offer similar support in Florida. 904-953-0853 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday

Thanks for all the info Pat.
I went to USF cardiology and had a full workup with the head of cardiology and her students. She was a very caring dr and didn't seem fazed by my 50,000 pvc's as most other doctors did, and would take my case and do my EP Study.
She was a bit different from the other doctors I've seen and didn't think I would develop cardiomyopathy or any problems from my pvc's and prescribed her "wonder drug" as she described it to me - Toprol.
I ended up in the hospital and my bp/hr tanked and even with meds they only stabilized me at 70/40 bp and hr of 41 for over 11 hours.
I almost didn't have surgery, but decided to go back with my original EP and thankfully I did. I had developed CM, and my EF went down from 55% - 40% in a few weeks time. The ep found I have Polymorphic VT and they suspected from ARVD, but my tests were inconclusive.
I'm a bit leery of doctors as you can probably tell; I wasn't told some things that were wrong with me and when doctors disagree with my diagnosis & treatment only make my apprehension worse, so I've had a hard time being comfortable with new doctors.
I've heard good things about TGH and their heart center, I may try there.
Thanks again for all your help.

lmt03367 - It can be challenging finding a good cardiologist in an area that has a large elderly population and therefore many Medicare patients. The economics of reimbursement for patient care tend to lead to shorter visits and less time with patients. One solution that may help is to seek care from a cardiologist and cardiac team associated with a university and teaching hospital. Tampa General is the primary teaching affiliate of the University of South Florida. USF has a cardiology program, and you can find more about it here: http://health.usf.edu/nocms/myhealthcare/

Also, I want to suggest support groups again. Are you in any support groups where you can talk with other patients? Often patients are the best possible resources in understanding a condition in lay language and in getting candid opinions about local doctors.

I also want to suggest again that you try working with your family doctor to get the information and coordinated care you need and deserve. I say that from personal experience as I have cancer and many medical needs. I was very frustrated until I attended a cancer survivorship workshop in which they discussed the way specialists spend little time with patients, and a patient on the panel described how he worked with his primary care physician to get more "face time" with a doctor, more information and get a better handle on what he needed to know to be able to better manage his medical condition. Most insurance plans will support multiple visits with your primary care physician while limiting those with specialists. I found that by staying on top of my concerns, and balancing my questions and needs between my personal doctor and my oncologist, I have gotten far better care, more information, more time with my doctors and much more peace of mind.
I'd love to see you have more peace of mind too.

Take care,
Pat

I live a few min north of Tampa, FL =) that's very nice of you to do.

Thank you

Thanks Pat. I've been through alot the past year and just trying to find answers and someone suggested I post here =)

I found it interesting that I had a Tilt table Test on a Wesnesday and diagnosed with NCS/OI w/(hypotension) - to where my bp plummeted to 0 and my heart stopped.
My bp has always stayed low - normally it's 90/60 but then on Friday of the same week of my TTT, my cardiac Cath shows systemic Hypertension.
I've been to 4 different Cardiologists & Ep's trying to figure out what's wrong and none of them have a clue, they just treat symptoms.
It's frustrating that even doctors with 30 years experience and school can't figure this out :(

Anon - Do you have a family doctor that you trust? There is no reason why you can't make an appointment with your regular doctor to review your general health and to review the results of this report.

We are not able to provide you with an interpretation of your results or a diagnosis. It is apparent, however, that you need to work with a medical professional that you trust to both better understand this information and to follow up as needed. You said that you have hypotension ( low bp) but you've also reported data showing mild systemic hypertension (high blood pressure). This is contradictory information, and your family doctor can take your entire medical history, as well as the results of your cardiac catheterization, to help you understand the results, determine if additional tests are needed, and work with you to manage your health concerns.

The New York Times Health Guide has good information on the procedure that may also help you in better understanding it, and the questions you need to ask: http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/cardiac-catheterization/overview.html

Your local heart association, or a cardiac care support group might also be helpful too. Several patients have mentioned that they like the Heart Hub for Patients and you may too. http://www.hearthub.org/

Let us know if this helps, and we wish you the best. Pat