jm's Adventure with Multiple Myeloma: Day 57 - Blood Clot in my Heart - November 9 2011

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Day 57 - Blood Clot in my Heart - November 9 2011

I received all the written reports for my PET Scan (11/2/2011), Echocardiogram (11/2/2011) and MRI of the Heart (11/3/2011).

My PET Scan was negative except for an uptake area over the blood clot in my heart.

My Echocardiogram showed and I quote, "There is a large mass in the right atrium that measures 2.2 x 2.0 cm. There are some smaller echodensities off of this larger mass that are highly mobile. Given the patient's history of catheters (left intrajugular venous line and an implanted Bard Power Port right subclavian central venous port) but we are unable to track the mass into the superior vena cava on this study"...recommendations: further studies with TEE or Cardiac MRI. My Echocardiogram also revealed that 3 or my 4 heart valves (mitral, tricuspid, and pulmonic) have trace regurgitation.

My MRI of the Heart showed that I have a thrombus (blood clot) at the end of my central line in the right atrium measuring 1.3 x 2.7 cm - thought to be a chronic thrombus with a smaller thrombus adjacent to the larger thrombus. 

Evidently, the size of the blood clot was NOT quite large enough to necessitate EMERGENCY OPEN HEART SURGERY. It was thought that I might be a candidate for a cardiac catheterization where they go in through the groin and could snare the blood clot in the heart. However, they said they couldn't do that.

I will continue to take Fragmin 12,500 Units daily for 2 more weeks. Then, I will be go to Interventional Cardiology at UCH and have my Trifusion Hickman Catheter removed under fluoroscopy (moving x-ray).

Unfortunately for me, I have taken the incorrect dose of Fragmin for 3 days this past week. I had some Fragmin left over from my pre-stem cell transplant that was 5,000 units and I was supposed to be taking 12,500 units daily - oops ~

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