I'm a little late coming to this discussion, but will add a few things to the good advice you've already received. I haven't had an MI, but did have a 99% blockage in my LAD with a stent placed about...
What a pain....don't get me started on insurance companies. The other 4 meds are probably weaker than Zocor, so here's hoping he does well with it. Good luck!!! Eventually, Lipitor will go generic...
Clarification: Most of the participants IN THE COMPARISON group had bare metal stents. In other words, there were about 1,100 people with CAD who took medications only, and there were another...
Crestor has a higher rate of side effects than most of the other statins. Personally, I'd be reluctant to take it, especially if it was just to try to get my HDL "good" up...niacin does as good or...
No, 50 mg. is not a high dose at all. 25 mg is about the lowest dose you can take, so 50 is just one step up....
I know that some blood thinning drugs like coumadin require that the person not eat certain kinds of green vegetables....
Zocor usually works as well as Lipitor in most people, with no difference (or perhaps even fewer) side effects, so long as they are taking equivalent doses: 10 mg. of Lipitor is about the same as 20...
An angiogram (in and of itself) is a diagnostic test, not a treatment method. The study you are referring to, nicknamed COURAGE, compared medications and stents (a treatment that can be performed at...
It sounds like you are getting the "standard of care" in terms of cardiolite test, then angiogram only if necessary. There are serious risks to the angiogram, but in the hands of a good cardiologist...
Hi, Dreamy... Hmmm, why didn't I think of that? You probably are right. We'll give it another week or two and see how it goes. Wonder how long Zoloft withdrawal lasts...shouldn't be much longer than...
The alternative to coronary bypass surgery is placement of stents, if you are a candidate. Whether you are a candidate for stents depends upon a number of factors, including the location(s) and size...
I've been taking a small dose (25 mg 2x day) of metoprolol for almost 2 years, since I was diagnosed with CAD and had a stent placed in my LAD in early 10/04. I had an EKG, plus a repeat nuclear...
Just checked my voice mail, and I now have the official word from my doctor's office that my MIBI stress test last week was fine...hope they are right. Guess I'll have to learn how to distinguish...
From what my cardiologist has said, I gather that not all people with major blockages have positive nuclear stress tests (Ellie, looks like you must be one of them)...he keeps telling me not to worry...
Juliet, Since you have stents, first thing to do is find out what your numbers are and get in the habit of tracking them on a regular basis. It might require you to be a bit pushy with your doc, but...
p.s. Here is a link to info re: healthy cholesterol levels that does a pretty good job of explaining it all: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183...
Phil, Did you go ahead with the angiogram? Is that how they know for sure that you have coronary artery disease that is causing angina? How many and how bad are the blockages, and where are they? I...
p.s. I think I've mentioned this before in another thread, but Mayo doesn't always put a person on the treadmill....they always put ME on a treadmill because I haven't had any heart damage; but I've...
Well, if you go with what Mayo Clinic Scottsdale thinks is the best, the type of test Dreamgirl had is what they do short of an angiogram...the first one I had done, the cardiologist said he thought...
Yes, they usually put in a stent at the same time as they do an angiogram if you need one and are a good candidate for one. You will be sedated for the procedure but will be awake. They will make a...
Interesting....my problems are very similar, especially the gas and upper abdomen pain (which often seems like chest pain). I was recently found to have gallstones (which I suspect were caused by the...
Hi, Ellie, What kind of stomach symptoms are you having? I'm having some too, and not sure what it's all about...hadn't thought too much about it possibly being the Plavix, which I was told...
I'm glad to hear you've decided to proceed with the cardiac cath...it truly is the best way to know for sure what's going on. The last I knew, my cardiologist at Mayo Clinic swears by the Cypher...
Oops...not sure how that happened....the above was supposed to be a reply to MusicMan....
Are you taking your Niaspan at bedtime and with your Aspirin? (Actually, they recommend taking the Aspirin 30 minutes before you take the Niaspan, but it's easier for me and my sister to take them at...
LDL for people with heart disease is supposed to be below 70...but I don't know how low is too low, or if there even is such a thing in an adult with heart disease. HDL needs to be above 40,...
Dreamgirl: Yes, I caved myself about 4 mos ago and started a daily very low dose of Zoloft myself...it does seem to help keep me more "even" and not be as obsessive a worrier. Hopes: Glad you're...
Wow!! This is a very helpful thread for me, even though I'm not dealing with exactly the same symptoms. I get chest pressure occasionally that doesn't feel quite like the angina I had before they...
I asked my cardiologist the same question when he wanted to do another angiogram last November. He told me this CT scan technology is about 5 years in the future in terms of being able to do what the...
p.s. This is from memory only, but the reversal of heart disease experiments with diet....require an extremely low fat, virtually vegan diet...which is very hard for most people to stick too, if I'm...
Phil, I can relate to what you are going through. I'm female; 55; had to have a stent placed in my LAD (Left Anterior Descending) artery almost 2 years ago. Had angina pains for about 10 days before...
The risks of the angiogram (cardiac cath) include death. They accidentally stopped my heart the first time I had one done and had to revive me with the defibrillator. Cardiologist told me it can...
Just wanted to comment on the Plavix issue. From the reading I've done, including many actual studies, it is a safe medication (perhaps safer than aspirin as it does not have the GI side effects)...
Oh, Juliet, I feel for you....What a shock this must be. How long ago did this happen? I was so upset when I got a stent for my 54th birthday present. I thought I was too young!!!! Started having...