good bye, mr. intervention cardiologist.

[eg22]

I've decided to take my current cardiologist out of the equation in terms of my health. He's unable to answer my questions about the whys and hows of my problem simply because he doesn't bother to listen to my questions. It's infuriating and terrifying all at the same time: this is MY life, this is MY body. I'm not asking you to unravel the

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[eg22]

An echo cardiogram in February of this year revealed a injection fracture rate of 30% in my lower left ventricle. A repeat echo in September this year shows no improvement after discontinuing consumption of alcohol (I have been abusive of alcohol in the past- for about 4 years- though consumption had been moderated a least a year before 'diagnosis'. I passed a stress test (just barely, though). You should know that this time last year I was running and jogging in the park nearly daily as part of an exercise routine. No passing out on the field then.

Drug history: apart from heavy alcohol abuse, there'd been some pot smoking, a tiny tiny bit of cocain- really, maybe 3,4 uses- and not binging-; some mah huang - sp? energy pills-; some whippits (about as much as the cocain) and some ecstasy - about as much as cocain, probably less.

I am overwheight now- about 37% bmi, which is difficult to combat when my FORMER cardiologist advises not to start any new exercise routines (I suggested swimming and biking for their low impact aspects).

Since I've been medicated (Coreg, 12.5 mg) for this, I feel out of breath more easily, I get worn out - not all the time, but some times, and more than before I started the meds. My bp before the meds was normal, even on the low end of normal. And doctors found I had arrhythmia when I was 17, but they never suggested I change my lifestyle in anyway, except to suggest I steer clear of caffeine, which I have blatantly ignored. (I'm a one-two cups per day drinker.) I played organised and school team sports all through my childhood and adolescence, and have always been a little overweight.

Anyway, I'm open to your thoughts and observations. I'm looking for alternative opinions.

[eg22]

hi eg... ok i see... there are underlying things going on with you. First, I want to say that I understand the duress you are feeling. It's hard to feel powerless against your own body... adn for that your cardiologist (or should i say former cardiologist) should be a bit more sympathetic .. esp since you are young.

The one way to help with ur weight is to change diet... a serious excercise routine woudl not be advisable with a decreased ej. frac... which basically means that your heart would not be able to keep up with the added demands that exercising would call for... so maybe walking would be good. low impact exercises are not the answer... low impact would be good for ur joints but your heart would still be pumping harder.. i would say work on your walking like you were doing before... but always consult with a cardiologist before you do anything new.

its not a bad idea to get another opinion.

best of luck

~WS

[eg22]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm really enjoying our dialog, actually.

I have been walking more and more lately, in fact. I work only 2.5 miles from home, so I've been walking half-way to work and sometimes all the way home from work many days a week.

Diet is tough because I walk for an hour then I reward myself with some kind of sweet or an indulgence of fatty foods, thinking, "Oh, well, I've already burned the calories that this will add, so I break even." But that doesn't make any damn sense as I'm trying to LOOSE weight, not break even.

My greatest fear is that this heart problem is an indication of a greater issue in my body. In my opinion, my doc hasn't done enough to poke and prod around me to make sure that this isn't a symptom of something much more serious (cancer, degenerative disease, etc.). I.E. I want Hugh Laurie on the case playing House on me. Not that I WANT something to wrong with me, but if there is, I want to make sure we catch it early rather than later.