02-16-2016, 09:38 PM
I did. Then, after more testing, the doctor changed his mind.
I had an episode of vertigo back in April of last year. I thought it was BPPV, a benign vertigo issue of the inner ear involving crystals building up in the inner ear and making one quite dizzy. It wasn't that at all, as the later MRIs showed. I had a small stroke. Apparently, there is a hole between the two sides of the heart, one that is there during the development of the fetus; this normally closes when the lungs fill with air at birth and the heart pumps blood through the lungs instead of bypassing them as is the state with the fetus. Mine didn't close, and apparently some plaque or something built up on the edges of this opening. A small amount of "stuff" broke off and caused the stroke.
Some 25% of the population has this "hole in the heart" issue.
Now I'm taking a blood thinner (Xarelto). The neurologist said that the aspirin was not indicated in my case, as it didn't do as what was apparently needed and the Xarelto did. I chose it instead of coumadin, as I only have to take it once a day and the monitoring is simpler. Xarelto affects the clotting factors you produce but doesn't affect the platelets, and this is apparently the desired result.
My neurologist a big believer in a cholesterol medication as well as a blood pressure medication; he has me on them as well at the lowest dose possible. He said he's on them as well. There is some studies that show that people who are currently taking them have a better outcome than those who don't.
Oh, BTW, if you are thinking that I should have the surgery to close the hole, there is additional evidence that there is no benefit for doing so.
I had an episode of vertigo back in April of last year. I thought it was BPPV, a benign vertigo issue of the inner ear involving crystals building up in the inner ear and making one quite dizzy. It wasn't that at all, as the later MRIs showed. I had a small stroke. Apparently, there is a hole between the two sides of the heart, one that is there during the development of the fetus; this normally closes when the lungs fill with air at birth and the heart pumps blood through the lungs instead of bypassing them as is the state with the fetus. Mine didn't close, and apparently some plaque or something built up on the edges of this opening. A small amount of "stuff" broke off and caused the stroke.
Some 25% of the population has this "hole in the heart" issue.
Now I'm taking a blood thinner (Xarelto). The neurologist said that the aspirin was not indicated in my case, as it didn't do as what was apparently needed and the Xarelto did. I chose it instead of coumadin, as I only have to take it once a day and the monitoring is simpler. Xarelto affects the clotting factors you produce but doesn't affect the platelets, and this is apparently the desired result.
My neurologist a big believer in a cholesterol medication as well as a blood pressure medication; he has me on them as well at the lowest dose possible. He said he's on them as well. There is some studies that show that people who are currently taking them have a better outcome than those who don't.
Oh, BTW, if you are thinking that I should have the surgery to close the hole, there is additional evidence that there is no benefit for doing so.