Dr. Gott: Symptoms may be related to heart attack

Dear Dr. Gott: Since last year I have had a problem, and no doctor seems to know what it is. My entire back gets cold and hurts. I immediately put a heating pad on it, and a few minutes later the sensation goes into my chest, causing me to not be able to breathe. I went to the emergency room a few weeks ago, and, as I was leaving, a nurse with a laptop came up to me and said my platelet count was 600. However, when I received a copy of the hospital report, it said I had had a myocardial infarction but did not mention my platelets. I am out of my mind trying to figure out what it is.

Dear Reader: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a heart attack: sudden blockage of one of the three arteries that supply oxygen and nutrients to the cardiac muscle.

If you had an acute MI, you should have been hospitalized and given a complete cardiac evaluation. On the other hand, if testing revealed an old MI, you should have been able to leave the hospital and see a cardiologist.

I recommend that you make an appointment with a cardiologist immediately. You need to be under the care of the specialist so you can prevent another heart attack. During the appointment, you can ask about your platelets. I am sure that he or she will do a full work-up, including blood work and testing, such as a stress test. This will allow the physician to assess any damage to your heart and see whether you have had other heart attacks. Your bizarre symptoms may actually be minor heart attacks.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Coronary Artery Disease.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped No. 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: My 63-year-old wife has been disturbed for many years by nocturnal urges to urinate that are accompanied by pain. The episodes occur three to four times a night and disturb her sleep because she has to use the toilet.

She periodically uses Vagifem (vaginal estrogen pills) but continues to wake up. She tried Detrol, but it made her feel terrible. This has created a long-term problem that lessens her enjoyment of life. Any thoughts?

Dear Reader: Your wife’s symptoms suggest several possibilities, including chronic urinary-tract infection. She needs a urine culture to check for bacteria and, later, if necessary, she should consider cystoscopy (examination of the bladder lining). You don’t mention whether your wife is under the care of a urologist. If not, she should be. Her ailment is most likely treatable once the cause is discovered.

If she does have a chronic urinary-tract infection, she needs to have her kidneys examined, too. Chronic, untreated UTIs can be the result of, or lead to, kidney infection. This is treatable with long-term use of antibiotics and, if caught early enough, will not cause permanent damage.