CT scan/PFT/Upper GI results?!
Question: after bad Shortness of breath/chest pains and many ER visits, I went thru these tests(within last 30 days or so):
$ Uppper GI with barium ( Hiatial Hernia discovered)
$ CT scan chest with contrast ( all negative)
$ PFT ( 85% of predicited)
$ Stress test with radioactive ( boderline heart enrlagement)
$ Echocardiogram ( Normal)
$ Blood test( CBC/Thyroid/SGPT normal)
now question is, why had those attacks of SOB/Chest discomfort, can someone please explain, is there any more , test I should get? I saw many intelligent people answer here, so please reply if you can give some suggestion and I dont want to hear" Go to ER"
thanks
Answers: after bad Shortness of breath/chest pains and many ER visits, I went thru these tests(within last 30 days or so):
$ Uppper GI with barium ( Hiatial Hernia discovered)
$ CT scan chest with contrast ( all negative)
$ PFT ( 85% of predicited)
$ Stress test with radioactive ( boderline heart enrlagement)
$ Echocardiogram ( Normal)
$ Blood test( CBC/Thyroid/SGPT normal)
now question is, why had those attacks of SOB/Chest discomfort, can someone please explain, is there any more , test I should get? I saw many intelligent people answer here, so please reply if you can give some suggestion and I dont want to hear" Go to ER"
thanks
The only thing I can think of (based on what you wrote) is that you may have GERD (acid reflux) this is pretty common with hiatial hernias and could present with chest discomfort/ pain and shortness of breath. (assuming the EKG was normal as well) If the symptoms happen more after a heavy meal or lying down, you might want to consider this.
Testing for GERD usually involves esophageal pH testing which is an abulatory procedure.
Hope this helps a little.
It sounds like the hiatal hernia would be the culprit; it's probably causing you extreme heartburn (which is a digestive, not a cardiac, disease). This can include a feeling of tightness, pain, shortness of breath, and so on. You need to speak with your physician about whether this is the case and if so how to treat it or whether you need surgical repair (if non-surgical treatments have failed).
There are a lot of easy treatments, primarily medications with few side effects and minor dietary changes you can make at first. If necessary, there is surgery to correct the physiological problem.