"They found something behind his heart!"

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

This is a very weird question, lol.

Let me start off by saying that no one else in my family is at all involved in healthcare and, quite frankly, has any knowledge of anatomy and physiology.

My grandmother told my mom that my great uncle has to have heart surgery because during his cardiac cath, "they found something behind his heart" that apparently can't be picked up on a stress test, and is hereditary to boot. Apparently a handful of men on this side of the family had/has this condition (news to me).

Now, for the life of me, I have NO CLUE what on Earth my mom and grandmother are talking about, and I kinda think they don't either. I'm not a cardiac nurse by any means, either, although I'm not dumb!

Does anyone know what this may be? I'm not asking for medical advice, because I don't want to tell my mom anything and have her freak out, I'm just curious!

Thanks!

[EmergencyNrse]

Can you be any more vague? ...lol Something? Like Waldo?

Could be practically anything. (Sheesh).

On a different note I found this just this morning. Patient tells me all of a sudden...

" I don't feel very well".

Mod HIPAA note: ID# on strip is random number not identifiable to single person per OP. NRSKarenRN

[Amparo Pagan Titmus, MSN, RN]

:-)

There are blood vessels in the posterior (back) of the heart. Posterior vein of the left ventricle, left marginal vein, middle cardiac vein etc. Usually "something" is plaque build up from cholesterol causing some type of blockage in one or more of the vessels.

Best wishes

[Amparo Pagan Titmus, MSN, RN]

AWESOME!

I know, I'm quazy.

[sweetiepeas]

Uh yeah, I wouldn't think he would feel good!

[sweetiepeas]

Oh yeah, I was thinking a clogged artery too.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

Can you be any more vague? ...lol Something? Like Waldo?

Could be practically anything. (Sheesh).

I am not being purposefully vague; I am merely trying to figure out what on Earth my mother is talking about...I understand the anatomy and physiology of the heart, I was just wondering if anyone knows of a hereditary finding that is cured surgically and would be found on a cath vs. a stress test.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

Oh yeah, I was thinking a clogged artery too.

But even my grandmother knows what that is, haha, so I'd think she wouldn't just call it "something," ya know?

My mom was the first person on this side of the family born in a hospital (her older siblings weren't!), so you see where I'm coming from here.

[esokitty]

Just a guess but maybe an aortic aneurysm?

[suanna]

I'm betting it's a thymoma. As adults our Thymus gland is supposed to have shriveled up in puberty, but for a small percentage of the population the thymus didn't "go away". It is not very dense tissue compaired to the surrounding structures so it dosen't show up clearly on simple x-rays. Mostly it causes mild "tamponade" symptoms with exertion -(dyspnea, chest pain, JVD) in that it is taking up room like a little meat muffler around the heart . They frequently take these out when they are discovered because there is a chance of malignant development- thymic carcinoma, and they are a useless vestigial organ in adults that serves no real function. Good news, if this is what they found, it is very rare to be anything but benign and the recovery is generaly very short- about like that for a pericardial window. I hope this is the case. Good luck.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

AWESOME!

I know, I'm quazy.

So what was the end result for this person? I hope they are ok. That is one awesome strip though.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

list of congenital + heart disease:

congenital heart disease: medlineplus medical encyclopedia