Have You Ever Had A Cardiac Ct Or Mri?

[misstraci]

Just curious if anyone has ever had a cardiac CT or MRI?

What was the test looking for for you?

Thanks

[bustersacc11]

Yes . i had both. It was early when trying to figure out what was going on with me. However, Cardiac MRI or CT are not typically order for someone with primary dysautonomia unless they suspect something else may be going on and dysautonomia is secondary. Cardiac CT is an excellent non-invasive test that looks at the arteries of the heart, structure, and mechanical side of the heart. Benefit is if they do a CT scan with contrast dye they can see if your arteries are clean, then it saved you having to go through a cardiac cath. Con is if you have any obstruction than you would proceed with a cath. Cardiac MRI is excellent at identifying and the gold standard when looking at whether cardiomyopathy is present or deposits in the heart muscle are present like in the case of amyloid. Another excellent diagnostic tool that can give way more data on the mechanical and structural data than an echo. Costly tests. Importantly, have a good radiologist that has been trained in interpreting cardiac MRI would be important for me.

[misstraci]

Thank you, this information is very helpful to me. Thank you for the pros and cons that is exactly what I was looking for.

So, if you don't mind me asking, what were the results of your tests? Was everything ok?

[bustersacc11]

Cardiac MRI was back in 2007 when I first became ill. We identified that I have a slow heart rate and extremely lightheaded. They wanted to see if I had cardiomyopathy or deposits around or in the ficinity of the SA node. Everything back fine. Structural and mechanical solid with a normal EF and pressure values. No myopathy or infiltrates. Have a PM now so unless I switch the hardware out to Medtronic MRI compatible device and leads I am no longer able to have MRI. At the time, it was the right thing to do.

2009 still new to this dysautonomia and in complete denial I kept having terrible chest pains. They have been atypical chest pain episodes but when it is happening to you who in heck knows whether this is the one or should i just wait for it to go away. I went to the ED and they went through all the risk factors and they wanted to do a cath. I am a RN by profession with a ICU/ cardiac background. Unable to work the past 4 years. I was like no way..with a cath. It hasn't become the standard of practice ct scan before a cath as I mention earlier with pro and cons. But I knew the likelihood of me at 36-37 yrs old at time having clogged arteries was pretty low. That is when I agreed to have a cath only after a ct scan with contrast was done first. The interventional cardiologist agreed. All my arteries were clean with no fatty deposits or plaque. Very reassuring. Saved me from risks even though they are low of having to go through a cardiac cath.

My ANS Malfunction has caused me to have slow heart rates and high blood pressures and adrenaline surges along with a host of other symptoms.

Why are you inquiring about these two tests, if you don't mind me asking?

[misstraci]

Thank again for the detailed response. I very glad that nothing was bad wrong in your findings.

Of course I don't mind. I have an appointment tomorrow with my cardiologist and I want to possibly ask for one of these tests to clear my mind. I have had "suggestive POTS/dysautonomia" for three years now but its continually gotten worse. I'm unable to drive, I have no quality of life, I'm barely functioning in my opinion. The left side of my chest feels "full", heavy, tight, almost like something is in the inside pushing against my skin, kinda don't know how to describe it. This is a fairly new symptom to add to the mix, I've been noticing it for several weeks now. I have no idea what it could be, I hope its not my heart but that is all i can think it could be and of course I get really scared thinking, oh no..... all the terrible things it could be. I need someone to help ease my mind and tell me that my heart is ok. Because my body feels terrible and its very scary

[Angela]

i had both to rule out heart issues as well as hr holter The mri was primarily to rule out ms and not sure what else but ruled it all out and was dx'd with pots. they also had me do EPS testing to rule out ms.

[misstraci]

Thanks Angela. Glad everything was ok. What is EPS testing?

[bustersacc11]

I totally get where you are coming from. Good luck! If you have questions about cardiac testing don't hesitate to ask.

[Angela]

I meant EPT lol

Evoked potential test
This test measures electrical signals sent by your brain in response to stimuli. An evoked potential test may use visual stimuli or electrical stimuli in which short electrical impulses are applied to your legs or arms. This test can help detect lesions or nerve damage in your optic nerves, brainstem or spinal cord even when you don't have any symptoms of nerve damage

[boymommy3]

Angela....That's interesting. Did you have a lot of neurological symptoms? I am having an MRI on Thrusday to rule out MS. I am having tons on neurological symptoms. My mom has MS so between that and the severity of my symptoms my doc wants me to have it.

If you have a clean MRI is there any need to have and EPT test?

misstraci....I hope you get some answers! I am in that same boat right now. Suggestive POTS but trying to rule other things out.

[RunningWild]

I had a cardiac MRI and trans-esophogeal echocardiogram when i was first admitted to the hospital. I was born with congenital heart defects (patent-ductus, and pulmonary stenosis), and had begun getting migraines with auras. I had a regular echo before i was admitted that showed a PFO, and they were concerned maybe i was having TIAs or other blood clot issues. The cardiac MRI showed no real structural abnormalities, and the TEE showed a PFO with some bi-directional blood flow. I don't think any of the cardiac issues were related to my POTS.

I then did Holter Test and Tilt Table for the POTS diagnosis.

[Angela]

boymommy3, I suspect for the same reason as you they might be looking into this for you but I believe the protocol is to rule out ms for most all pots patients..... my big sister has MS so they really wanted to be sure that wasn't what's going on. Not all mri's will show ms. for example, my sister's mri didn't show the lesion, after 2 years of looking for answers she was dx'd by looking into eyes/brain via an ophthalmoscope! That is when they found the lesions. My 2nd neuro was also pushing for the lumbar but I didn't see the point after 2 negative mri's, one without contrast, one with and without, and the ophthalmoscope, and the negative ept.

[misstraci]

Thanks for the explanation Angela, interesting, I haven't heard of that one either.

boymommy3, thank you and sorry you're in the same boat, good luck with your mri, let us know when you get your results!

runningwild.... what is PFO? I'm glad they did the tests and ruled out bad things on you too.

I can't accept "just suggestive POTS" at this point, if I'm given multiple tests that confirm my heart is ok, I'll accept, but not right now, not with this quality of life (or lack there of) and I'm sure the anxiety associated with my symptoms and then my thoughts about my symptoms is not helping one bit !!

[seattle chris]

I had both five years ago as I have had a history of extra heart beats/PVCs and family history of cardiovascular disease. The MRI was negative but the CT showed a buildup of fatty acids in a critical part of my coronary artery. The buildup wasn't deemed to be of immediate danger, but it was a sign that I should watch my diet as the buildup would only worsen with age. There was/is also a low risk that the cholesterol plaque could rupture and cause a blood clot or heart attack. One issue was that there isn't enough data to know the associated risk factor this level of buildup (i.e., my result could be indicative of the average person's reading at my age). I was already an exercise fanatic, but I switched to a vegetarian diet after the test per the doctor's recommendation (although I have received conflicting advice on the pros/cons of a vegan or vegetarian diet). Given the results, the doctor recommended I follow up with another CT every five years (no less given the test's radiation exposure). My already low cholesterol levels are now very low, which has led at least one nutritionist to advise that I increase my cholesterol levels (all other blood tests were positive) but I doubt my cardiologist would agree. I don't think any of this information had any impact on my subsequent dysautonomia issues.

By the way, the tests weren't that bad to cope with (not nearly as bad as the tilt table test).