Lions, and tigers, and heart attacks, oh my!

Options
Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited June 2014 in HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer

Hello lovely BC sisters,

 Just as I thought I was coming to somewhat of an end to my cancer treatments (I was just fishing rads, had finished chemo, and had 9 more months of Herceptin), I got a bombshell dropped in my lap.

When I went to get my Herceptin, I was told by my onc that my LVEF had dropped from 67% in March to 36% in August. I was absolutely stunned. I had some of the warning signs, but all of them could be attributed to SE of my other treatments I had going on.

When you have that significant of a drop, you are taken off Herceptin for good (normally). I was very distraught to know I couldn't get my life-saving Herceptin infusions! After mourning over that for a while, I realized I might be in some serious trouble with my heart.

In the last two weeks, I have seen the cardiologist twice and had many tests run. On Thursday, I got more very surprising news. The cardiologist walked in the room and greeted me with, "You had a heart attack." HUH!?!

About three weeks ago I had what I thought was an asthma attack. It was pretty bad and lasted about 20 minutes, but then I seemed okay. At the time it was happening, a heart attack crossed my mind, but I wasn't having any pain in my chest or down my left arm, so I dismissed it. Wrong move! If I would have gone to the hospital immediately, I may have been able to have received meds that would have prevented permanent damage to my heart.

The doc said he believes that my cancer medicines somehow caused me to have a blood clot that caused the heart attack and resolved itself, because I have no blockages now. So now I am being treated for heart disease and for the 'overall weakening of the heart' caused by Adriamycin, Herceptin, and rads.  I need to call the Cardiologist back on Monday and ask him WHAT exactly my diagnosis is, so I can google myself to death learning about it.

My LVEF was 33% on my last test, but he said that was the same difference as 36% and he wasn't considering it a drop. I am now taking four medications and he said our goal is to get my EF back up to 45%. I, of course, am hoping to get it back up into a normal range, but realize that either score will only be kept there with medications.

 This entire trip has been such a roller coaster ride! I'm going to end this with the signs of a heart attack, so maybe someone else won't make the mistake I did by staying home!

---------------------------------------------------

It's vital that everyone learn the warning signs of a heart attack. These are:

Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

Shortness of breath. Often comes along with chest discomfort. But it also can occur before chest discomfort.

Other symptoms. May include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness.

Delay Can Be Deadly

Most persons having a heart attack wait too long to seek medical help-and that can be a fatal mistake. Patient delay-rather than transport or hospital delay-is the biggest cause of not getting rapid care for heart attacks.
People often take a wait-and-see approach, delaying because they:

Do not understand the symptoms of a heart attack and think that what they are feeling is due to something else.

Are afraid or unwilling to admit that their symptoms could be serious.

Are embarrassed about "causing a scene," or going to the hospital and finding out it is a false alarm.

Do not understand the importance of getting to the hospital right away.

Some patients are more likely than others to delay. For instance, women, older persons, and minorities are more likely to delay getting help.
As a result, most heart attack victims wait 2 hours or more after their symptoms begin before they seek medical help. This delay can result in death or permanent heart damage-damage that can greatly reduce the ability to do everyday activities.

http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/haac_ram/haac1.ram

Miss S

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • TenderIsOurMight
    TenderIsOurMight Member Posts: 4,493
    edited March 2008



    Lions, and tigers, and heart attacks, oh my! When I saw that, I cringed, recognizing it was indeed you, Miss S who was posting. Sure enough, you confirmed your title had indeed happened! How absolutely horrible, Miss S! How are you doing now?



    Thank goodness you are still here, writing and warning us about heart attacks. I thank you for taking the time to do so. I am so sorry for your recent troubles.



    It's frustrating to know you were being followed for the low ejection fraction already, from the Herceptin treatment and apparently a clot formed and blocked a vital artery causing your asthma symptom-like heart attack. Has your cardiologist given you any idea how much of the heart was damaged? Are you on blood thinners for life, in addition to your cardiac drugs? How are you feeling in general? I think it great that your ejection fraction seems to have reached it's nadir, and hope it will be just up from here on!



    An excellent Columbia University woman cardiologist who has written on gender specific medicine is Marianne Lagado, M.D. She is very aggressive in talking about how women have differing symptoms from men in a heart attack, and has written several books, including her first:



    The Female Heart: The Truth About Women and Heart Disease by Marianne J. Legato

    and

    What Women Need to Know: from headaches to heart attack.



    Miss S, you have had your fair share of troubles of late. I do hope your heart and breast cancer issues improve from here.



    Thank you for taking the time to post on such a vital subject, especially for we women on potent heart compromising drugs, including Adriamycin, Herceptin, and Hormones. I hope there is no further deviation from the yellow brick road to a better, justly deserved healthy landing for you.



    Tender

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • EachDay
    EachDay Member Posts: 400
    edited September 2007

    I'm sorry that you've had to go through this.  The heart can so easily be affected by all the things we do to our bodies to deal with this cancer.  You've done a wonderful thing by posting this message, along with the signs to watch for.  It could save a life.  Women's symptoms are different from men's symptoms and it seems that we want to think symptoms are something else rather than what they could be.  Hope things are looking better for you soon.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2007

    Thank you both for your responses.  Tender, let me clear up a little bit of confusion. My heart attack actually occurred BEFORE I knew anything about having a low EF. In fact, if it had been after, I may have been wise enough to go to the hospital.  When it happened, I had no idea whatsoever that anything was wrong with my heart.

    I was lying in bed and suddenly I couldn't breathe well at all. I felt squeezing and pressure on my chest and I was coughing. I also started sweating, but I figured that was because I was panicking from not being able to breathe. At the time I thought I was having a panic attack. After it was over, I got online and started researching and learned that it couldn't have been a panic attack. It sounded more like an asthma attack and since I have mild asthma, I assumed that was it.

    I actually took an Ativan and four puffs of my albuterol inhaler during the heart attack.

    A week or so after this event was when I found out about my EF. I immediately knew that the episode I had been through was related to my heart and not asthma, but I never dreamed it was an actual heart attack! However, when I looked up the info on heart attacks, it pretty much described what had happened to me perfectly. Cry

    When the doctor described the damage to my heart, he held out his hand as if holding a ball from the bottom and said, "The bottom of your heart is barely functioning at all."  I'm sure the heart attack was a major contributor to my low LVEF.

    He said I am being treated for two different problems. One is heart disease from the heart attack? I think, and the other is what he called 'an overall weakening of the heart due to cancer treatments (Adriamycin, Herceptin, and radiation to the left chest).'

    Thank you for the book recommendation. I will certainly grab a copy of that and continue educating myself on heart disease.

    Each Day, thanks for your encouragement and I hope this information does help someone.

    Miss S

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • EachDay
    EachDay Member Posts: 400
    edited September 2007

    Miss S, they tell us that side effects from AC and Herceptin can cause problems with the heart.  It's really knowing what to look for that is helpful and your further description of what you suffered through, thinking it was panic or asthma, may just save the life of another woman.  Much gratitude to you!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DebbieB
    DebbieB Member Posts: 161
    edited September 2007

    Hi Miss S,

    I am so glad to hear that you are being treated for your heart problems.  It kinda throws you for a major loop to survive aggressive BC and then deal with heart problems.

    I would also like to make sure that others know that chemo can cause permanent damage to your heart and this can occur years after you finished chemo.  I too have permanent heart damage from Adriamycin and found out 5.5 years after the fact.  Also, you may NOT have a heart attack.  Your main symptom may be nothing more than shortness of breath that just gets worse.  Back in May, I went to the doctor 6 times in 4 weeks ( and saw 3 different doctors)  because I was waking up at night unable to breath and couldn't walk 4 feet without being out of breath.  The doctors were treating me for bronchitis and then tried 3 different kinds of inhalers and none worked.  I was very fortunate because I finally got a doctor in the ER that took one look at me and said my problems were heart related!  He also said that had I not came in when I did, I would have most definately came in on a stretcher within the next couple of days.

    My LVEF is between 18-24% depending on the test.  I am on 8 different heart meds and will probably be on at least 2 of them for the rest of my life.

    Please ladies....DEMAND....that your oncologist does MUGA scans on at least yearly.  If you develop heart problems from chemo, the sooner you find out the better.  My oncologist never did MUGA scans although I asked him about it a couple of times.  I wish now I had either demanded them or got another oncologist.

    I don't want to scare anyone.  This is just one of those things that is better to catch sooner than later. It will be December before I find out whether or not the heart medications are going to control my problems.  According to the cardiologist it works for about 50-60% of people.  My other options are heart transplant!  He hit me with that 3 times when I was in the hospital and let me tell you, it gets your attention. 

    Debbie

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • EachDay
    EachDay Member Posts: 400
    edited September 2007

    Debbie, you have had a hard time and I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to you.

    One thing they told me right off the bat with AC was that the "A" could cause permanent heart damage.  We "know" that but as we move on from tx, we think we've escaped that.

    Your story also shows that the damage can manifest at any time, not just right away.  And the symptoms can be "mild", "mild" enough that ER doctors mis-diagnosed you.

    One thing I always do when seeing a doctor for anything...I mention the breast cancer.  I hope that putting it up front helps in any kind of diagnosis.

    Praying that your meds do the work and you won't need a heart transplant.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2007

    Debbie,

    I am so sorry for all you have been through and I hope that somehow you'll have wonderfully surprising news in December.

    I really appreciate your input and your desire to get the word out about heart damage. I know I was very healthy before I got breast cancer and I was so happy about being 'almost finished' with treatments. I never dreamed *I* would be one of the unlucky ones who sustained heart damage. I was fully aware of the warnings, but never thought I would be the recipient of such misfortune.

    Blessings to all,

    Miss S

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories