heart thing
Oct. 15th, 2024 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alicevangelineI forgot to explain about this.
Back in July or something, I asked my primary dr (who has since left the practice) if I should be concerned about my gallbladder since that's what ended up being terminal trigger for my mom. No, she said, a lot of people have gallbladder problems, but it would make sense to see if you have the heart valve problem (PFO, Patent Foramen Ovale) that she had, because that's hereditary and usually is undiagnosed. That thing is basically an issue where blood kinda goes from chamber to chamber so oxygenated & unoxygenated blood can mix, under stress (like, if you have pancreatitis, that counts as stress).
So I did an EKG on Sept 5, and 2 weeks later got a call that I don't have that - a PFO, but I do have a PAVM, a pulmonary arterio-venous malformation. I am pretty sure it was a 'you HAVE" not a "you MAY have." That means, in essence, that capillaries forget to form, and arteries & veins down in the lungs connect right to each other. I'm at increased risk of stroke. I think she sent a referral for a vascular specialist or cardiologist but I haven't heard from them. Also a PAVM is often a common sign of a strong hereditary condition where circulartory tissue doesn't form properly. That's called HHT. More on that another time.
This has been me googling, but, like, trying to see what is 'worst case' versus probable, and etc.
Back in July or something, I asked my primary dr (who has since left the practice) if I should be concerned about my gallbladder since that's what ended up being terminal trigger for my mom. No, she said, a lot of people have gallbladder problems, but it would make sense to see if you have the heart valve problem (PFO, Patent Foramen Ovale) that she had, because that's hereditary and usually is undiagnosed. That thing is basically an issue where blood kinda goes from chamber to chamber so oxygenated & unoxygenated blood can mix, under stress (like, if you have pancreatitis, that counts as stress).
So I did an EKG on Sept 5, and 2 weeks later got a call that I don't have that - a PFO, but I do have a PAVM, a pulmonary arterio-venous malformation. I am pretty sure it was a 'you HAVE" not a "you MAY have." That means, in essence, that capillaries forget to form, and arteries & veins down in the lungs connect right to each other. I'm at increased risk of stroke. I think she sent a referral for a vascular specialist or cardiologist but I haven't heard from them. Also a PAVM is often a common sign of a strong hereditary condition where circulartory tissue doesn't form properly. That's called HHT. More on that another time.
This has been me googling, but, like, trying to see what is 'worst case' versus probable, and etc.