Q:
Have had high labile blood pressure for last twenty years. Getting ready for cardiac pulmonary stress test became cold, clammy, excessive sweating heart rate dropped to 35. Skin color gray. I fainted and was sitting down. Have 3 heart stents, last one placed 10/2010. Have Cad. What could cause this? And is there some testing I should have done?
A:
You certainly need to have your heart checked out. You already have hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), and now also a problem with a slow heart rate. The latter two may be related. My first concern is with your CAD, in that one of your stents may have failed. The fainting spell is a serious warning sign and may be the result of the slow heart rate, causing insufficient blood flow to your brain during that period. Your doctor needs to determine those things.
You can read more here about stent failure:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/ca-blog/how-long-does-a-heart-stent-last-
About slow heart rates:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/ca-blog/i-have-a-very-slow-heart-rate-bra
For testing apart from an EKG and perhaps a Holter monitor for longer periods:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/heart-disease-diagnosis/exercise-stress-t
You may also want to take this treatment evaluation to see whether you should consider other therapies:
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/app/
Hope this helps,
Dr T
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/