I have bone marrow failure and am blood transfusion dependant. I recently noticed increasing lethargy and fatigue. I’m used to tired..it’s my normal, this is different. I told my specialist and he ordered a blood test which came back as double normal value for heart failure. He ordered an echo to see if my EF was normal or low to determine what kind of treatment I can have. I left hospital before the echo results were given to my Doc so I have to wait until my next appt in three weeks time.
I have had atrial tachycardia in the past (went away as I grew older) and then occasional ectopic beats which was treated with Lanoxin which was ceased when my blood pressure dropped too low. My only signs/symptoms are the fatigue, low pulse sometimes in the 40s, low blood pressure around 85 to 90 systolic as my norm and when I’m due for a transfusion I get short of breath and dizzy. Sometimes I wake up during the night gasping for breath and palpitations which I had attributed to anxiety.
I found out today when I received the invoice that the blood test I had was a NT pro-B-Natriuretic Peptide. My question.....is this test definitive for heart failure, are there false positives? My Doc said because it was only double normal it’s only mild heart failure and the test can be used to monitor degree of severity. My moths died 5 months ago from heart failure and no one ever mentioned this test to me. Is it mainstream? Thanks in advance for any answers.