Electrocardioverted Multiple Times. Having Shortness Of Breath. Chances Of Having Polycythemia?

Posted on Fri, 27 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 Answered on

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : My husband has been electrocardioverted multiple times . He has not had an episode in 2 years. In the past he had atrial fib due to dehydration and stress. He is a surgeon which requires him to stand in every procedure. He is 60 years of age and has shortness of breath, his chest and neck are red and when he touches it with his fingers it shows a white fingerprint then goes back to red. He occasional wheezing.he has swelling and brown discoloration on the skin of his ankles, varicose veins in his legs and frequent distention of his abdomen. His hematocrit is elevated and he has low platelets. He has multiple cherry angiomas on his abdomen and a few on his back. He has E.D. and he takes testosterone injections weekly . flecanide,toprol, zolpidem, pravastatin, tramadol.He is concerned that he may have polycythemia . Does that fit these symptoms? Which specialist do you recommend?

Answered by Dr. Robert Galamaga (6 hours later)

Hello and thank you for submitting your question. Your question is a good one and I will work on providing you with some information and recommendations regarding what is going on.

Your concern regarding polycythemia is very accurate. I also have this concern in the case of your husband.

It is very important that he sees a hematologist for a specialist consultation. There are many things which can cause polycythemia. It can be a primary medications which can also contribute to this including testosterone. if he is using testosterone this can only be done in a situation where he has a true low testosterone level. If he does not have a low testosterone level and he continues to use testosterone he runs the risk of serious potential side effects.

Also smoking can contribute to elevated hematocrit.

Having elevated hematocrit can put stress on the body over a long period of time. I certainly recommend that you make an appointment for your husband to see a hematologist. The hematologist can't perform additional blood tests and possibly consider a bone marrow biopsy to confirm a diagnosis.

Thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you have found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar