An ECHO is an ultrasound that takes pictures of the different areas in the heart. It can detect if your heart is weak (heart failure), enlarged, issues with valves closing or opening, clots in the heart, an infected heart valve, or fluid around the heart. It can take anywhere from 10 to 15min depending on body habitus and positioning.

Shortness of breath can be caused by many different reasons. It can be caused by: 1. Asthma or any lung disease 2. Anemia 3. Heart failure 4. Pneumonia 4. Blood clot in the lung 5. Heart attack just to name a few. You would need a complete workup to figure out why this is happening including but not limited to: ECHO, stress test, pulmonary function test, CXR, cardiac cath, or CT scan of the chest. Shortness of breath needs to be evaluated by a medical professional.

Treatment for irregular heartbeat depends on the reason it is happening. If the suspected cause may be diet related, for example caffeine intake, then the treatment would be to reduce your coffee or caffeinated beverages or switch to decaf altogether. You will see a cardiologist who may perform an ECHO (check to see if your heart is weak) and a stress test (check to see if you have evidence of possible blockages in your heart). If your irregular heartbeat is caused by an abnormal rhythm such as atrial fibrillation, you may need medication to convert it back to a regular rhythm, or cardioversion (where they elicit electricity to the heart to help change it back to a regular rhythm), and you may need to be on blood thinner depending on your risk for developing a stroke. Atrial fibrillation generally means your heart is not fully squeezing most of the blood out of the atria of the heart (fibrillating) causing more blood to remain in the heart than there should be. This stasis of blood increases risk for blood clots hence, increasing your risk for stroke.

Persistent heartburn can be problematic. First step in helping to alleviate heartburn is to reduce the contributing factors to the issue. 1. Avoid spicy foods. 2. Reduce coffee intake. Coffee increases acid production in the stomach which can worsen heartburn. 3. Avoid sleeping/laying flat within 1-2 hour of eating or drinking. 4. Avoid tight belts. Belts can be restrictive especially if they are too tight. 6. You may need an endoscopy to see if you have a stomach ulcer/gastritis (inflammation of the stomach). Heart burn can be a sign of heart attack also. Women who have heart attacks can present with heartburn vs typical chest pain with radiation down the arm. You should always contact your primary provider for further evaluation and workup.

You can follow the DASH diet---Dietary advances to lower blood pressure. Avoid canned foods, use DASH seasoning vs salt, avoiding eating out too much (unsure how much salt is added to food), and incorporate moderate exercise such as walking or low impact movements. Loosing weight can help your blood pressure (every 2.2lbs of weight loss, your BP can go down by 1mm Hg). Medication is typically recommended if your blood pressure is greater than or equal to 140/90. Normal blood pressure should be less than 120/80. If you are 122/84-->considered pre hypertensive and should start exercise and dietary modifications at that point vs waiting until your BP reaches 122/84, Overall, watching your diet with moderate exercise should help to improve your blood pressure.

It really depends on how bad the heart attack was and how much heart muscle was affected. You can suffer a mild heart attack and be relatively ok but if you had a massive heart attack, you may be left with a very weak heart also known as heart failure. Heart failure can cause leg swelling, shortness of breath, and a build up of water in the lungs.

Long-term management strategies are designed to preserve heart function with medications, an implantable defibrillator if needed (device inserted into the chest wall that will provide internal shocks to the heart to prevent death from abnormal heart rhythms), and improve quality of life and manage symptoms (shortness of breath, leg and abdominal swelling). If the heart continues to weaken despite medications (all of the above measures), then the patient will be evaluated for a heart transplant or a device inserted to heart to help it pump better; the workup for these measures is extensive.