When you narrow it all down to one factor, what is the mechanism?
August 19, 2022 2:03 AM   Subscribe

IKYNMD - I've had heart issues, specifically of the electrical type (AV Node) for a number of years, diagnosed with diastolic dysfunction grade 1 - there is thickening of leaflets as well. The cause - actual cause, root - no one has ever told me. This week my HR went from 44 to 110 just doing normal things like walking and resting. It took me up to 45 minutes for HR to go down after walking. Echos show DD but nobody is really telling me the mechanism and I need to know in order to at least slow the progression if at all possible.

I've had a lot going on with acid base - sometimes alkalosis, other times arriving to ER (with SVTs) with acidosis. Have had electrolytes imbalances as well. So sick and tired of this whole thing. Ablations were mentioned but I have a feeling that there is an underlying cause to all of this - example - HR is 51 - but if I straighten my spine it goes to normal. Interesting. Done a few times and it's the same result. SVTs happen after exertion or walking. Case in point my entire spine is out of whack due to reverse lordosis, whiplash, scoliosis (T3-l4 - progressing) with bulging discs and degeneration throughout. Nobody has ever equated my spine situation with my heart - but I think there is something going - and don't know how to pursue this even. If I raise this with a cardio doc they look askance as if I am deluded. But literature has shown not only connections but vital ones - CNS and all.

Am wondering if there's someone here who can shed some light on this and point me in the right direction. The thickening - hypertrophy - could be due to my spine impeding the heart in some which way - the scoliosis is a match location wise - exactly where the nerves to the heart go.

Also if someone could please link articles about the pacemaker inside the heart itself and what possibly is the mechanism that could go awry in arrhthmias - and why.

Thanks for any assistance. <3
posted by watercarrier to Health & Fitness (2 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Another area to explore might be the heart valves themselves. Has regurgitation been an issue at all? Between the leaflet thickening and the postural issues perhaps that might be an area to look at. This site has more information about exploring that route. (Disclaimer: I work for the heart valve organization that created that site and I'm not a medical professional.)
posted by platinum at 5:04 AM on August 19, 2022


don't know how to pursue this even. If I raise this with a cardio doc they look askance as if I am deluded. But literature has shown not only connections but vital ones

Contact the authors of the literature you're referring to. They have the knowledge needed to direct you to articles/ mechanistic questions. Especially if you have complicating factors (you mention a few), it's not clear what help general references to the literature will be.

It's lamentable, but it's little surprise that physicians aren't often able to access the time (or psychological resources) that it takes to do a deep dive into connections that might be considered still on the fringe of clinical research. Research and practice are separate worlds, and the gateway between them is fickle. Practicing physicians who aren't conencted with a specific clinical study are going to have a lot of fear and suspicion of treading into malpractice if they do so much as offeropinions on what those clinical studies might be saying about your specific approach to treatment.

You may also find value in asking your physicians why they look askance at your suggestions. They may know of a preponderance of data from other clinical studies that make what you're bringing to them moot in their eyes.

You have my sympathies--dealing with medicine is an endless slog, but persistence and question-asking can be helpful.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 5:08 AM on August 19, 2022 [2 favorites]


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