Can a chest injury increase the risk of heart disease?

Question

Hi doctor,

My husband got hit in the heart during karate and got a clot over there, and he has had occasional pain over there for the past five years. He was taking medication to alleviate the clot. The doctor told me it has healed, and it has now been ten years without any chest pain, but from that time, sometimes he gets on and off leg pain, and also he is overweight, but I get it connected with the heart trauma that happened long back. He says he only once got a bit of swelling in his leg due to standing for a long time. He has a snoring problem, too. Once, we did an ECG, and it turned out normal. I am very worried as I heard that there is a chance for heart disease in heart trauma patients. and what do you suggest? We live a bad lifestyle, and recently, he started eating and exercising healthy, and he is 32. Kindly help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to the icliniq.com.

I understand your concern. Glad to know your husband is following a healthy lifestyle now.

From the description of his leg pain and obesity, I feel there is a high likelihood that he could suffer from deep vein thrombosis, i.e., blood clots in the veins. I would suggest he get a venous doppler of both lower limbs done, and if clots are present, he should be given blood thinning medication. I would also suggest getting a sleep study to ensure that snoring is not serious and losing weight to remain in the ideal BMI.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.