Victor Mejia, M.D.

A diminutive circumflex artery is a subjective way of describing the left circumflex artery. Your doctor should tell you if this means the size of the artery is small because you were born that way or if it is small because there is a plaque in the artery. There are many reasons for the
enlarged right ventricle. If you are still having symptoms you should have another consultation.

This is a great question for your transplant team, but you should expect a long stay in the hospital given how complex this surgery is.

It depends on the specific heart arrhythmia. Most can be controlled with medications. For the ones that are not well controlled with medications, or instead of using medications after discussing the alternative with your doctor, catheter based procedures called ablations can be quite effective at correcting the arrhythmia. For unique arrhythmias that are unpredictable
or otherwise not well addressed by the first two options, devices like pacemakers and defibrillators are the next best options. Please talk to your doctor to decide what is best for you.

Victor M. Mejia, MD

Yes, high blood pressure is serious. There is a reason why it’s called the silent killer. Over time, it can lead to heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. You can improve your blood pressure by eating a healthy, low-sodium diet, exercising regularly, and losing weight if you are overweight. Of course, if you cannot improve your blood pressure with these changes,
you may have to take medication. You should see your doctor.

Chest pain can happen for many reasons. The most concerning reasons include cardiac or vascular pain. Other reasons include stomach or esophagus related pain, like indigestion and heart burn. Pain from the gall bladder or pancreas can sometimes radiate to the chest as well. And even musculoskeletal pain, including inflammation in the joints between the
chest bone and ribs, can cause pain. You should definitely consult your doctor for an evaluation.

After you have a heart attack, fatigue is a common symptom that you may experience. The severity and duration of fatigue may be influenced by the size of the heart attack (how weak the heart is after the heart attack); the medications used to treat people after a heart attack; ongoing symptoms related to heart disease; and concurrent medical problems like depression, which can happen after a heart attack. Without aggravating causes, fatigue tends to improve in the majority of people after about two months. If fatigue is not improving, you should talk to your doctor.

Victor M. Mejia, MD