False Positive stress test

[missyblue260]

I have had no chest pains and have felt fine.  My GP ordered EKG because I am over 40, that was abnormal, I then had stress test which showed blockage.  On Tuesday I underwent heart catherization and was found to be a false positive.  I don't know what to do now.  Again I feel fine but I am now very sceptical of any test results.  I have diabetes and my father died from a massive heart attack at the age of 54 so I don't want to dismiss test results but am not sure of my next course of action.  Is there a test that is more reliable?


This discussion is related to A false Positive result.

[missyblue260]

Thanks for all the advice.  This whole episode has really freaked me out.  I have always tried to take care of myself but there is always room for improvement so I am trying to see this as a wakeup call to do better, exercise more, eat right, yada yada.  I guess what I am feeling is disillusionment, I thought these tests were more reliable.  I believed from the beginning that my doctors were being extra cautiuos because of my medical history and I appreciate that I just don't want this episode to make me suspicious of test results because next time there really could be something wrong!

[erijon]

Let me explain, you wrote in your post;

" An echocardiogram was performed which could find no tissue damage and the Cardiologists refused to believe the results stating "An echo doesn't always give accurate enough readings". I was then sent to have a nuclear scan which concured with the echo and shocked the cardiologists"

I was only pointing out that a nuclear stress test has an overall accuracy rate of 85% and a specificity of 93% meaning that 7% of normal results will be a false negative. Since you fell into the 7% group I mentioned you were the exception to the rule. I did not mean to imply your doctor missed anything.

[ed34]

I'm not sure who made you a moderator of this forum but you can't post comments about me on this thread and not expect me to respond. I did get your message and Im
currently deciding on what to do with it. Maybe I should post it into a new thread and let people make up their own minds what they want from this forum. I've only had complaints from you, nobody else. I've had lots of messages thanking me though.

[ed34]

"Your case certainly sounds like the proverbial exception to the rule"

In what specific way? I think my case is perfectly to the norm.
1.  MI Episodes
2.  Sent for emergency Angio due to results of ECG/Troponin levels
3.  Stent inserted into Circumflex, LAD noted to be occluded.

There is no point in stenting/bypassing a vessel if the tisue is dead, it will be a waste of time.

4.  Echocardiogram
5.  Stress test
6.  Nuclear perfusion scan
7.  Triple bypass (failed)
8.  Stents to LAD

Which particular event did my cardiologist make an error on which is not to normal protocol?

[ed34]

ah, now it makes perfect sense. However I am surprised that the wrong diagnosis was given from the nuclear scan. The scans are interpreted by specialists and the results are then sent to the cardiologist. Maybe the wrong results were sent for the wrong patient? which sounds more likely than them being misinterpreted because ischaemia is not hard to spot. Wrong papers in the wrong records is not unknown, unfortunately.

[erijon]

The most important test was the cath and it was normal, showing no blockages. A cath is the gold standard in testing and is 100% accurate. I think that given you have no symptoms and you had a clean cath, you're heart is in great shape. Personally, I would be thrilled!

Also, glad to hear they did a nuclear stress test, that makes more sense. To put it in perspective, nuclear stress tests are about 85% accurate and do result in false positives more often than false negatives. Parts of the heart can be difficult to see due to soft tissue attenuation, it's very common. These areas will show as parts of the heart not getting enough blood which causes a false positive.

I would go forward without worry but given your risk factors, make sure you eat right, get some daily exercise and get checked out every few years, sooner if you develop symptoms. You have a great starting point.

Good luck!

Jon