PET scan being made optional

PET Scan

by Gemita - 2024-10-17 18:29:27

Lillian, the American Heart Association site may well say a PET Scan is used to detect coronary artery disease, but in the event that you had a serious blockage, they wouldn’t be able to fix it with a PET CT myocardial viability FDG scan.  They would only know the degree of blockage and then if needed, they would still have to do the gold standard invasive Angiogram to treat any significant blockage.

Of course it is always nice to know about these things, but what would you do with the information, if you did know?  Could you reverse your situation of heart block at this late stage, or dispense with your pacemaker?  If knowing what caused your heart block would change anything, then the PET Scan might be worthwhile, but I am not sure that it would make any difference, unless some ongoing disease like inflammation, infection, for example, is still present, then of course the PET scan would be well worthwhile.

My feeling is that this would be nice to know, but not an essential test unless you are still feeling unwell and want to rule out infection or something like this as an ongoing cause for your heart block?

You're making an assumption that I don't think is correct

by crustyg - 2024-10-18 03:55:48

"but some on this list say you should just accept that you may never know, and move on.  But maybe it's worth doing to detect coronary artery disease even if it doesn't determine why the heart block?"

I suspect that there's an assumption in your mind that CHD is a significant cause of HB: I don't think it is (unless you have a large anterior infarct in which case you have much bigger problems).

And wondering if you have CHD - unless you have symptoms that you've chosen not to share - probably isn't wise, it's a mental health rabbit-hole that can turn you into a cardiac-cripple.  Every twinge becomes the start of a heart attack, every bit of breathlessness becomes a new arryhthmia, every tightness in the chest on exertion becomes The End.  And if you don't exercise, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

During my training we were cautioned about the risks of open-ended investigations - the PUO, the hunt for a tumour that might be present - as the complication rate tended to rise quite sharply.  Yes, it was a long time ago, and modern imaging has made many of these odysseys much less dangerous, as many of the biopsies involved could be avoided.

As someone with a lifetime of personal mental health challenges and a firm believer in CBT, my advice - for what little it's worth - is to reserve your worrying for things that you can actually affect.  You can't change your intermittent HB (for which there are lots of causes, including some that are temporary), so focus on getting as much out of your life right now, PM included.

PET scan

by piglet22 - 2024-10-18 07:44:38

I agree with the others.

I have CHB. It happened like a lot of things do. It was diagnosed, treated, end of story.

Am I curious why it happened? Not really. It's too late in any case.

If there was something else going on, which may or may not be associated with heart block, I'm confident that that additional tests over and above ECGs and echocardiograms, they would have been done.

The only thing that might change my mind was the possibility of a genetic aspect or the offer to take part in research.

If I was really curious, I would ask the cardiologists or more likely, spend an hour or two seeing what the web browser brought up.

Quite honestly, dealing with the condition on a day-to-day basis is enough.

And a PET-CT scan is quite a significant event in itself. A quick rummage on Google reveals FDG (FluoroDeoxyGlucose) has a radioactive isotope of fluorine atom F-18 tacked on, which provides the positrons which the scan reveals as buildups in certain conditions, including heart disorders.

Apparently, it has a short half-life of about 100-minutes, so the radioactivity falls off quite quickly.

If it was curiosity only, I don't think I would elect to do it. There's also the possibility of ending up with something else to worry about.

Your medic has given you the ticket, now it's up to you to decide.

Optional Procedure

by Good Dog - 2024-10-18 09:28:41

I completely agree with the others here. Unless there is something beneficial that you or anyone else could derive from determining the cause of CHB, I would suggest against further testing. I had symptoms of heart problems in my childhood, but it was never investigated or diagnosed. I actually underwent a Cardiac Cath when in my mid 20's to try to determine the cause of my newly discovered 1st degree AV Block. I assumed that it was part of an investigation to determine if there was anything else wrong that I otherwise would not be aware of. During the procedure they accidently shocked my heart and my enite upper body bounced off the table. To say it was shocking is an understatement. The Doc could not apologize enough and fortunately there was no harm done. I agreed to the CC, because the doctor recommended it and at the time I was of the mindset that I must do whatever the Doc recommends. I have since changed my mindset! Turns-out that since they found no cause of my 1st degree block they simply labelled it as congenital and said that someday I may need a pacemaker. So, about 10 to 12 years later at the age of 37 my 1st degree block progressed to a 3rd degree complete block. I needed a pacemaker.

So my point in all of this is as I indicated previously, I would never suggest or recommend an investigative procedure (but, what do I know) unless there was a very clear-cut benefit (goal). Simply, knowing a cause without any ability to alter the outcome is of no benefit at all. Most importantly, in my opinion, every procedure has risks which should never be taken lightly.

It is obvious that you are trying to do your homework before making a decision on this. So, I am confident that you make the best decision for yourself.

I wish you the very best!

Sincerely,

David

ditto

by Tracey_E - 2024-10-18 10:16:22

I'm one of the ones here who says don't bother with the tests. We've had members put themselves through all of the tests, and most end up with nothing except a stack of medical bills and radiation exposure. CHD is not related to heart block, the cause of heart block is rarely discovered, heart block is fixed with a pacer. So, to me that means there's no need to bother with the tests, but that's just me. If it helps you feel better about it to have the tests, then go for it. I would, however, take into consideration crusty's rabbit hole advice.