ok, i'm 25 years old, female, with a
history of congenital pulmonary artery
stenosis... hormonal imbalances
(polycystic ovarian syndrome), and
non-specific connective tissue auto-immune
disease (and been listed as "borderline"
lupus since age 12). and erratic
tachycardia.
i'm of normal weight, active, with no drug
use, prescription or recreational, no
drinking, no smoking. however, exposed to
2nd hand smoke, and was on birth control
pills for hormonal reasons from 1996-2004.
since around 1997, i'd noticed an increase
in being more out of breath than normal
from less exertion-induced activity. over
the years i'd have moments where i'd turn
very flushed and winded... sometimes for
no real reason. sometimes i wouldnt even
have any symptoms with the flushing. but
other people would point out how beat red
i got.
i have no history of hypertension (always
around 110/60 or 110/70 or 120/80), except
there'd been times when was about 12 and
13 years of age and with reported BP of
140/80. doctor just attributed the short
term BP to hormones or whatever. go
figure.
my thyroids are normal, cholesterol is all
perfect. but, i have an elevated
anti-nuclear antibody level, as mentioned.
iron and blood count are good.
the last couple of years especially i have
been suffering from being more out of
breath just by walking up steps or
standing up. depends on the day.
gets even worse during my period.
so i saw the doctor in december 2006 about
heart palpitations that suddenly started
and racing heart, even at rest and
pressure in my neck and chest. they did an
EKG and it came out abnormal.
it showed a mild right atrial/ventricular
strain with rsr prime in v2, possible left
ventricular hypertrophy, and non-specific
st-t waves. also showed right bundle
branch block?
i had a full doppler/stress echo 2 weeks
later and everythng seemed fine, but at
rest my pulse rate would be as high as
154. it could/can go anywhere from 90 to
150 within a few seconds. just ny standing
up my heart rate goes up very very fast.
only took one minute to get my heart going
from 154 to 202 on the stress test. had to
stop because i was going numb in my hands
and legs and dizziness, out of breath.
the echo showed, supposedly, no LVH.. but
the LV was hyperdynamic with a refraction
% of 70%, which was actually a good %.
noral right atrium, but trace mitral valve
regurgitation and physiologic tricuspid
valve regurgitation, but supposedly with
continouous doppler, it deteremined there
was NO pulmonary hypternsion, however, the
rest of the test, they listed the
pulmonary trunk and arteries as not being
able to be visualized due to my habitus.
which made no sense, im 5'2, and 120
pounds and small as hell... with no lung
or chest problems that could have caused a
visualization problem.
anyways, my doctor told me today he thinks
i should have a catherization done to rule
out pulmonary hypertension and stenosis,
and take a look inside as well as the
right side heart.
im worried this might be PRIMARY pulmonary
hypertension. as is seen alot with those
wth hormonal and
lupus/scleroderma/auto-immune issues...
also, my VQ lung scan and chest x-rays
turned out normal. no pulmonary embolism
(as far as they have been able to tell).
what do you guys think?
does this sound more like.. a secondary PH
from my past stenosis? that i most likely
didnt outgrow?
