1347 INTRODUCING A CARDIOLOGIST WHO RESEARCHES WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HEART ...

It was suggested that I google this cardiologist and

Thought you'd share my interest in this information—
Exploring the brain-heart connection:

PUJA MEHTA, MD
CO-DIRECTOR,
CARDIO-ONCOLOGY PROGRAM, DIRECTOR, VASCULAR FUNCTION RESEARCH LABORATORY

Why I became a cardiologist: One reason is because I am passionate about helping women who have or are at risk for heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women. Cardiology is an exciting field that is constantly changing. Over the past 20 years, new technology has advanced our knowledge and treatment options for women’s heart disease. 

My research focus: I’m interested in how stress impacts heart disease. There truly is a brain-heart connection, and this is what I study. I am constantly amazed at how much a woman can handle ... and not stop to think about herself, even when symptoms of heart disease finally arise.

Dr. Mehta is associated with:
The Constance Austin Women’s Heart Fellowship, which is designed for young physicians who are interested in advancing their knowledge of heart disease under the guidance of C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, FACC, FAHA. "This one-year fellowship allowed me to learn research and clinical skills specific to women’s heart disease that I will carry throughout the rest of my career. Specifically, I learned about diagnosis and treatment of coronary microvascular disease, an often under-recognized problem in women. This generous fellowship will further many young physicians and provide an opportunity vital to the advancement of women’s health.

2015

Really good to know that my angiogram showed all five major vessels to be functioning fine, and the echo cardiogram showed no tissue damage.  On the other hand, the angiogram, performed by the interventional cardiologist showed the apex of my heart to be dilated and non-contractile, indicative of a focal cardiomyopathy.  As certain aspects of this transient reaction are surprisingly interesting, I'll return to this subject in another post.

 As those test results suggest that my problem was not due to major vascular disease but rather to the overwhelming nature of distress, which recent studies have shown to cause coronary micro vascular constriction.  Thankfully, Dr. Mehta has been studying this emotional/physiological reaction for the past 20 years.

Knowing my defense system's habit of denying the depth of my distress while focusing on conflict resolution, my physiologic reaction fits the profile for this under-recognized problem, found most often in women.

As I'm too tired, today, to offer you a detailed, step by step explanation of what happened over the past several days, suffice to repeat that the angiogram showed all five major vessels to be fine, and the echo cardiogram showed no tissue damage.

Though test results offered initial relief, the fact that the heart enzyme had elevated presented a mystery until the cardiologist suggested that the problem with my heart was likely due to micro vascular constriction, resultant of repressed stress, which Dr. Mehta has chosen to research and teach to young cardiologists, studying under her guidance.  With hopes of not giving myself reason to repeat this physiological reaction to stress, I'll discuss everything with my internist and therapist concerning the distressing event—which saw me repressing the greater part of my emotional reaction during the 24 hours preceding my heart-wrenching reaction.  And now that my energy is fully spent, that's it for today ...