Tag: Dr. Richard Fogoros

Stress test vs flipping a coin: which is more accurate?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 97 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

You may not have any signs or symptoms of coronary artery disease while you are just sitting there quietly reading this post. In fact, your symptoms may occur only during exertion, as narrowed arteries struggle to carry enough blood to feed a heart muscle that’s screaming for oxygen under increased demand. Enter the diagnostic stress test, used to mimic the cardiac effects of exercise to assess your risk of coronary artery disease.

During stress testing, you exercise (walk/run on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike) to make your heart work harder and beat faster.  An EKG (also called ECG) is recorded while you exercise to monitor any abnormal changes in your heart under stress, with or without the aid of medications to enhance this effect.

But consider this blunt warning from Dr. Kevin Klauer:   Continue reading “Stress test vs flipping a coin: which is more accurate?” →

When are cardiologists going to start talking about depression?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 46 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥  @HeartSisters

I can vividly remember those early days and weeks at home after surviving a heart attack, especially that cold creeping anxiety around how I “should” be feeling. I had just survived what many do not: what doctors still call the “widow maker” heart attack. (By the way, note the gender semantics there, please: doctors are not calling this the “widower maker”).

I was now resting comfortably, both of my darling kidlets had flown back home to be with their Mum, our home was filled with flowers, get-well cards and casseroles delivered by the daily line-up of concerned friends, family, neighbours and co-workers.

So why was I feeling so bleak inside, and even worse, now feeling guilty for all that bleakness?  Continue reading “When are cardiologists going to start talking about depression?” →

‘Holiday Heart’ in women

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Here’s something to keep in mind as you ponder your party planner this season.  Some people are apparently so extremely sensitive to alcohol that even moderate amounts – sometimes just a single drink – can trigger episodes of the heart arrhythmia known as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. This unusual syndrome is also what doctors sometimes call “Holiday Heart“.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common heart rhythm disturbance that can produce significant symptoms. It is a rapid and irregular heart arrhythmia, caused by chaotic electrical impulses in the atria of the heart (the two upper chambers). In many cases, AF is caused by underlying heart disease or by aging. But often, it seems to have no identifiable cause. In cases of Holiday Heart, however, the possible cause may be an unusual sensitivity to alcohol consumption.  And in women, some Holiday Heart symptoms can look significantly different than those observed in our male counterparts.     Continue reading “‘Holiday Heart’ in women” →

How soon are heart patients safely fit to fly?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 21 Comments

plane-drawing

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

Five months after my heart attack, I boarded a plane from the West Coast bound for Rochester, Minnesota.  Considering that I’d suffered two terrifying cardiac events on another long flight just five months earlier made this trip just a wee bit scary for me.

Only the reality that I was headed to the world-famous Mayo Clinic helped to propel me onboard. I told myself that if anything happened to me and my heart during this flight, the board-certified cardiologists at the Mayo Women’s Heart Clinic would know exactly what to do for me. If I survived the flight, that is . . .            .      .  Continue reading “How soon are heart patients safely fit to fly?” →