Episode 29: You’re Having Symptoms of a Heart Issue. The Story of Myocardial Bridges You Should Know.

Welcome to Imperfect Heart, a place for you to join me, Jeff Holden, in conversations, discussions, and dialogue about our hearts and the impact myocardial bridges have on them. We'll talk with healthcare professionals, those in related fields that support our condition, and others just like us with stories of their myocardial bridge experiences. It's my intention for this content to inform, educate, entertain, and even motivate or inspire you in your personal journey on dealing with a myocardial bridge. Most importantly is to have you leave each episode with hope, knowing you're not alone and that what you're experiencing is real. This is going to be a bit different today as I've chosen to do this episode solo, and for good reason. The awareness of myocardial bridges is improving. We're seeing more and more cardiologists identifying the bridge and more and more surgeons on roofing bridges. We still have a long way to go, but we're making progress. The purpose of this episode is to give those just experiencing angina, chest pain, shortness of breath, or any of the other myriad of symptoms that could be related to a heart condition something to go on. Let me first step back before I go forward. If you're hearing this, your heart's beating. That's a good thing. The reason you're listening to this is you suspect that there's something wrong, and that's not a good thing. You want to learn a little bit more to rule out possibilities. So we're going to go through the circuitous route of getting to rule out or identify if you may have a myocardial bridge or if your symptoms are being caused by something else. First, some rough facts. And I say rough because the actual numbers vary by source, but I'm in the ballpark here. It's been estimated that 25% or more of the population, and I'll just reference the United States here, but it translates to every country, 25% of the population has what is defined as a myocardial bridge, or an artery that's under the muscle tissue of the heart. That's one in four of us. That 25% translates into about 88 million people in the country that have a myocardial bridge. But it's estimated that only 1% of 1% of that number have bridges that are symptomatic. Really? Would you agree with that? Well, here's why I don't, and why I think it's so important we need to continue to get these stories told. That number would mean 9,000 people in the country are symptomatic. Not only do I believe that that number is much larger, but I also believe people are dying from undiagnosed myocardial bridges. And here's why. The 1% of the 1% are those of us that have been diagnosed. We've shared our symptoms. We've talked to our doctors, our cardiologists, our surgeons. We had symptoms severe enough to keep pushing to the point that they've been addressed and documented. You know, but what about Uncle Joe? He just dropped dead. And he was in seemingly good shape. Yeah, he was complaining of chest pain or shortness of breath, but he never got to the point of getting a proper diagnosis. His cause of death looked like a coronary artery blockage. That's so sad, Uncle Joe. You must not have taken care of yourself. But we know that in 100% of the cases of a myocardial bridge, there's a narrowing of the artery where it enters the heart. And in many cases, that area becomes not only narrowed, but a repository for plaque. And then atherosclerosis. And before you know it, the artery's clogged. And could it cause sudden cardiac arrests? Yes, I believe it does. And some of the surgeons on our program do as well. If one in four of us has this condition or myocardial bridge, that's a huge number. Now consider that roughly 700,000 people die from heart disease each year. It's the number one cause of death in the country. One in five deaths are caused by heart disease. You still with me? You see where I'm going? Of that 700,000, 380,000 are coronary heart disease. Yes, that's right, coronary heart disease. That's what some of us have been told when we were misdiagnosed with a myocardial bridge. Oh, and one more fun fact while I'm on the topic. Heart disease has the number one mortality rate of all the other diseases. And if you add the deaths from cancer, respiratory, like COPD, stroke, Alzheimer's, guess what? Heart disease still wins over them all, combined. Add to the fact that another 800,000 people suffer from a heart attack each year, and you can begin to see the picture I'm unfolding. Let's just say 25% of the people who had a heart attack had a myocardial bridge. That number's 200,000 versus the 9,000 that were estimated earlier. Man, that's a whopping number. Could we save lives with better diagnostics? Man, there's no doubt about it. Is it likely you or someone you know just starting your research into your chest pain or shortness of breath has a myocardial bridge? Well, yes, a one in four chance. I've been fortunate to have been unroofed, but man, my blood pressure is going up just thinking that there are doctors out there that don't recognize this condition as symptomatic. Look at us. Look how many of us, hundreds, if not a thousand or more, have been unroofed, and we now experience far less or even no more symptoms from our bridge. We need to keep pushing and keep asking questions, and now you have some real numbers to use to question your diagnosis. It's quite likely stress, work, relationships, money, family, environment, whatever else you're being told, that's not your problem. You may actually have a myocardial bridge. So let me walk you through what to expect now that you're stepping into the process of diagnosis. And good for you that you are. Let's go. Okay, so something happened, right? Something happened, or it's been happening and it's getting worse. It could be chest pain, it could be shortness of breath, could be fatigue, whatever it is, it's gotten bad enough to where you need to address it. That's the very first step. Well, the symptoms increase. And now this is where most of us take a mental break and go into denial. Can't be my heart. I'm in good shape. It never happened before. You come up with a phrase that works for you. We all have our terms for denial. Now the third step, you cut back on your activity. You can't do as much as you used to do. You're doing less and less because of the pain. You're kind of still in the dial phase because you haven't done anything. Next step, you reluctantly seek help. You're going to call the doctor. You start asking questions. You're still in the denial phase, but you're kind of coming out of it. The doctor isn't going to diagnose a heart condition, so don't worry. Your diagnosis in most cases will involve a chest x-ray, a blood test, an EKG, maybe even a stress test, and surprise, everything looks normal. You know better though, because you don't feel normal. Something still isn't right. Now maybe you get prescribed drugs or you're told to relax, you're stressed, but you already know that's not the case because you're well past that denial stage. And now the fun begins because you really have to figure out what it is you need. Your primary care physician doesn't get it, or your GP, he doesn't get it, or she doesn't get it. So now you're gaslit, medicated, even now humiliated, and you're beginning to lose hope that nobody can figure you out. How am I doing so far? Now you push for a specialist. You're to the point of knowing something's wrong and you're gonna do something about it, dammit. Demand a cardiologist, and you finally get in to see one. And if by chance they do the proper testing, you save a lot of steps, but more often than not, they don't. You may get an echocardiogram, a nuclear stress test, a cardiac MRI, but nothing's gonna show anything. You may even get an angiogram. You're getting closer to diagnosing a bridge, but until you get a CT scan that shows the blood flow, you're likely not going to know about a myocardial bridge. It's my contention that once you've gotten to the cardiologist, the CT scan should be one of the first tests given, and then the bridge can be eliminated from the equation as a cause of your symptoms. Not the opposite. Not all the tests and tests and tests until the last one you do is the one that diagnoses the bridge. So by now you're probably wondering if you're gonna have a heart attack. Are you gonna live? We all felt that. Those of us who have been treated and surgically unroofed didn't know what was gonna happen. We were concerned that any day could be our last. You can't live like this. Your quality of life is terrible. And actually, you don't want to live like this. So good for you. You push on. You finally find a cardiologist who does the proper testing and identifies that you have this thing called a myocardial bridge. Yay, you found something. But the next word out of his mouth are don't worry, it's benign. These things don't cause symptoms. Scream. Scream at the top of your lungs. Share the podcast with him or her. Connect him to the Facebook group page. Have him call me. You can work on that cardiologist if you think you can persuade him or her, but if not, don't bother. Find another. You're suffering. You shouldn't have to work that hard to get somebody to recognize you need the proper help. This cycle actually could repeat itself several times. So be prepared. You're about to the ninth step now. Because now you know there's a solution. You know you've got something, you know that it has a potential to be repaired. You know there's a surgical procedure, or at the very least, there's drug therapy for this thing called a myocardial bridge. You just have to find the right cardiologist and the right surgeon. Well, thankfully, that's getting a little easier than it was just a few years ago. It's still no piece of cake, though. At least you now know what you're dealing with, that there is hope and that there are solutions. Now you're fully engaged in the remedy and you're picking up steam. You've got a sense of direction, you're headed in a linear fashion to a solution. You finally find a surgeon that understands myocardial bridges. Hallelujah. And he's willing to talk to you. There's light at the end of the tunnel. There's hope. You're going to live. You're exploring options for surgery. Now you're looking at is it going to be a typical strenotomy or possibly robotic? You have choices. You've gotten to the point where you have choices to make for something that will help the pain you've been living with now possibly be alleviated. Finally, surgery. You've made a decision, you've had your surgery, and it's time to get back to life as you knew it. Or something close to it. Rebuild relationships, work, family, and then the realization that, oh my gosh, I am better. You may not be a hundred percent better, but you're better. Now, not everybody's going to experience this crazy cycle, and that's good for you if you don't. But some of you may not have myocardial bridges. And I do wish you the best of luck in getting a proper diagnosis. But with one in four of us out there, it's quite likely your persistence and perseverance that got you to where you needed to be is going to find you a solution. So for that, congratulations. Now you're better. You're looking toward the future and knowing today is going to be better than yesterday or last week or last year pre-surgery. The fear has been diminished and the confidence in moving forward is just expanding day by day. It's not the case. And surgery is not always the necessary repair. There are those of us out there that have been unroofed and still experience symptoms. But the bottom line is don't give up. Push all the way to the proper diagnosis and then make the decision on your options. And if it's surgery, you have everything to gain by getting it done. There's going to be some setbacks, there's going to be some concerns for sure, and there's even going to be some problems, but for the most part, you're going to be better. After hearing so many stories get told, seeing so many of you on the Facebook group talking with numerous coldiologists and surgeons, we have a long way to go to getting everyone on board. But each one of us that comes out better on the other side of surgery gets us one step closer to demonstrating that myocardial bridges are symptomatic. They are much more prolific than anyone thinks, and they can be corrected, resulting in less or even no symptoms after surgery. One final note each of us is very different. And what works for one may not work for another. So be aware that you are very unique. You will have your own journey in this process. Share this episode with anyone who is complaining of chest pain, shortness of breath, severe fatigue. Have them begin their own journey to wellness. And thanks for letting me rant. I think we have the ability to save more lives by awareness and familiarity with myocardial bridges. Thank you for listening to Imperfect Heart. It's my hope that this information helped in some way to improve your situation or will help you better understand this condition. More importantly, that it gives you hope through stories that there is help and you most certainly are not alone. If you've been diagnosed with a myocardial bridge, please be sure to join the private Facebook group, Myocardial Bridge Support Group. For more information about our program or to reach me directly, visit the website myimperfectheart.com. If you like what you heard today, please give a positive review, thumbs up, high five, whatever your app likes. And be sure to share with everyone important to you so they understand what it is you're dealing with. Please subscribe as well. Welcome each day with gratitude and positivity. Imperfect Heart is a production of Hear Me Now Studio.