Heart/cardiovascular problems at 21?

[zoobyshoe]

I did my thesis on cardiac measurements with specific attention to diagnosing diseases that show S-T segment changes.

I have no idea what this means. Is an S-T segment change a feature of an EKG readout?

It's been over 2 decades since I worked in the area, however, and I'm not an MD; hence my earlier warning that my words need verification too.

Noted, but with a formal education such that you could do a thesis in this area you're probably way ahead of anyone else around in basic cardiac knowledge and in knowing where to look for more up-to-date and more detailed info.

Thanks for your kind words, zoobyshoe.

You're welcome, sir.

 

[marcusl]

The waves in the EKG were simply given letter names, P through T, some 100 years ago. (The German acronym EKG stuck, too, even though it should be ECG in English.) The P wave occurs during atrial contraction, the QRS is ventricular contraction and the T wave is repolarization of the ventricular muscle (relaxing and getting ready to fire again). Click on "illustration of an electrocardiography tracing" near the top of this page
http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/tu3164.asp"
for a cartoon drawing.
The S-T segment, normally a straight line, is very sensitive to abnormalities but you often can't tell which problem is present just from the trace. That's what I was looking into.

 

[twisting_edge]

(The German acronym EKG stuck, too, even though it should be ECG in English.)

I always assumed they kept the 'K' so you could tell the name from other exams of a similar nature, like an EEG (electroencephalogram). "ECG" and "EEG" are nearly indistinguishable when spoken.

 

[leright]

well, I had my echo today. I will let you know what the results are when I get them.

 

[Danger]

We're with you on that, buddy. You're going to ace the test.

 

[brewnog]

I call it an ECG.

 

[USAPatriot]

So Leright, what's the latest? -Rod-

 

[leright]

So Leright, what's the latest? -Rod-

No info from the doc yet.

 

[USAPatriot]

No info from the doc yet.

K. Any more problems? My dad's been running occasional bouts of Afib (I judge that by pulse only and it's not been confirmed by the docs yet) so they put him on a Holter for 24 hours at the beginning of the week. No results back yet. -Rod-

 

[leright]

K. Any more problems? My dad's been running occasional bouts of Afib (I judge that by pulse only and it's not been confirmed by the docs yet) so they put him on a Holter for 24 hours at the beginning of the week. No results back yet. -Rod-

Not yet.

 

[leright]

well, I got the echo results yesterday. They came back negative. He said my bump rhythm and valves are in check, but he said one of my heart muscles is slightly enlarged. He said this is likely due to the fact that I have slightly high BP (~135/88) and it may have been higher in the past. He put me on mild BP pills and I picked up a BP monitor. He also had blood work done to check my cholesterol, and I should know the results Monday.

Overall, nothing is really wrong except for the BP, which is an easy fix.

 

[Evo]

well, I got the echo results yesterday. They came back negative. He said my bump rhythm and valves are in check, but he said one of my heart muscles is slightly enlarged. He said this is likely due to the fact that I have slightly high BP (~135/88) and it may have been higher in the past. He put me on mild BP pills and I picked up a BP monitor. He also had blood work done to check my cholesterol, and I should know the results Monday.

Overall, nothing is really wrong except for the BP, which is an easy fix.

That's great to hear!

 

[marcusl]

Leright, glad to hear all is good so far.

 

[leright]

but these pills aren't really doing anything for my BP. I've been checking my BP like 2 hours after taking the pills and my BP is still around 135 or so.

 

[Moonbear]

Let your doctor know that. Sometimes with BP medications (well, often, actually), it's a bit of a guessing game of which one will work best. There are different causes of high BP, so you have to find the medication that matches the cause. It's easier to do trial and error than to start doing a ton of tests to determine which medication is best.