Hello: I am new to the site. My cardiologist put me on Toprol XL which has slowed my heartrate some. It's worked wonders on my BP ... lowered it to 108/65. Did Toprol lower your BP also? I have intermittent A-fib; cardiac syndrome X (where small arteries spasm in heart); MVP; PSVTs; angina (controlled). All my heart problems seemed to be under control until Friday was a wk ago. I go to physical therapy to regain strength in my left side and regain balance. They thought it was MS, but it turned out to be periventricular leukomalacia (rare in adults) where certain white matter of the brain becomes soft... the symptoms are identical to MS, but they will never go into remission. I was on the track and the more I walked, the more pain between the shoulder blades and the chest became tight. I cut it short and went home. After resting, I was fine except the pain between shoulder blades (eased up but not stopped completely). I thought I had screwed up something where I had a cervical fusion the end of August. When I moved around a lot, it returned. I should have known, but I kept thinking I had pushed myself and hurt the fusion site. Monday night I couldn't take it anymore and went to the ER. On Tuesday I had a stress test (chemically induced since I can't walk at a fast speed yet) and it showed a marked difference than the last. The nuclear films showed plaque therefore giving me the diagnosis of CAD. You could have knocked me over with a feather!
I'm a respiratory therapist and have taken care of many pts recovering from bypasses. I exercise, eat right, etc so I never thought I would have to worry about
CAD. My last 2 caths were normal! Last one was 2 yrs ago. My HR would go from 67 to 126-132 just by sitting up in bed! My BP was high which I can't have due to more exacerbation of the PVL. The placque was only slight-moderate so the cardiologist did not do an angioplasty. He's trying meds to see if it will help. I see him again in 3 wks (sooner if problems) and if the meds don't work, he said we will talk about
going back in! Sure hope meds work
! Sorry to be so long, but I'm still in shock! I'm now wondering if the CAD may have caused the PVL exacerbation since it's probably due to lack of oxygen. I see my neurologist Tuesday, so I'm hoping he can also give me some answers. Thanks for the ears, as I said, I'm still in shock. Any advise?