Just want to let my friends know. I have a right bundle branch block. Have to have an echocardiogram. And a stress test, have to find out if insurance approves it. My urine was fine, so was everything else. Also had Pap smear and manual breast exam. Mammogram has to be scheduled. Got prodded everywhere and everything is the way it should be, no lumps or bumps. Just the abnormal EKG. Not in a good mood.
I have had both of those tests, too, @Chrissy Page , and medicare should cover it since your doctor is ordering the tests. The echo test takes longer, but I think that you will find it to be very interesting. It is basically an ultrasound like they do with pregnant women to see how the baby is developing, except you can see your heart inside you moving and beating. I enjoyed watching the little monitor when they do an echo. Nothing hurts, they just put some jelly-stuff on your chest and tummy area, and then move the little sensor around on your skin to "see" the different parts of your heart. This is what they do to check my CHF, and that was how they could tell that my heart was only functioning at 23%EF of what a normal heart should be doing. If you have some sort of a blockage, it is good that they found it (even though not good that you have the blockage), and they may put you on some medication that will help regulate it better. I have never heard of this, and no knowledge how it is treated. You should know more after the echo test. I think you will need a driver after the stress test; and it can take a long time because they keep you for observtion afterwards. Your doctor should explain all that when they schedule you though.
I guess I should look it up but I don't want to stress right now. She said it wasn't blockage or afib but just something where on my right side the electrical impulse isn't the same as on the right, but really have to do the other tests to see what's going on. I also have to have a mammogram this month and all this is pending ins approval. I did have to lay there naked while she looked over my whole body and felt for lumps and bumps and looked for moles, etc. Said my heard sounds fine, good and strong everywhere so that reassured me. She was very gentle with the Pap smear also, so I'm glad that's over except for the result but my uterus felt normal And my cervix was smooth....I think that's what she said. The stress test is the treadmill and will be done in his office as will the echocardiogram. I guess when I picked this dr as my general practioner13 years ago, it was a good choice since he's a cardiologist. If I need a driver I guess I'll have to use the one my PPO provides. This is not looking like a good month, last month was hell and now all this crap.
Chrissy, I think that you can ask to have all of this put off if you need more time to recover first. It is part of what Medicare does each year as part of their wellness exams; but I have put off some of the things until I was ready to have them done, or even not did it all all in some cases. My doctor grumbles at me; but she reschedules things for later. I think that you have a legitimate reason for assking to wait before you finish all of the medicare tests.
Well today we did many of them. The EKG, Pap smear, urine, whole naked body check. nose, ears, BP, pulse, oxygen level, weight. I should have done my bloodwork this month but because of how messed up I was with eating and stress I didn't do that. Will do it this month before my aug 1 appt. I starting crying in the drs office. Then she told me she was leaving next week and I loved this NP. The woman I couldn't stand is coming back, I asked to have my appts with the DR. Since insurance now covers my visits.
Thanks Martin. I still haven't googled right bundle branch block but it's one of those things I could have had for a long time and can live with without doing anything. The other tests are too rule out anything I guess. I don't have any symptoms, so will see. I'm not too concerned about my Pap smear, nor am I worried about my mammogram. Dr didn't feel anything but you never know. My daughter googled it and she said one of the symptoms that'd you would have to take meds for maybe would be fainting and I've never fainted in my life. I thought of @Ina I. Wonder when she mentioned fainting, wondering if this showed in her EKG.
Sounds like you are in good hands. I have had the echo test many times and it is an easy one. If your abnormality was very serious they would have not let you go home. Delay the test if you need to for a week or two.
I don't have an appt til aug 1 and that's when the test will be if my insurance covers it. The dr said people live their whole lives with this and if it's needed there are meds. Eventually I'll google it but for now I don't even want to know what it is. Know it's something to do with an electrical impulse, she was drawing a pic of the heart and I couldn't even concentrate. All I saw was EKG abnormal. I knew once my tests started they would find things wrong.
@Chrissy Page The second Dr. I saw after moving ton AZ requested an Echocardiogram, to which I agreed, watched my heart beating on a screen, valves opening and closing, quitter fascinating to "see" one's own. Simple procedure, totally painless. Worst part? Paid $350 for "interpretation", done by a Specialist, the reg. Dr. never contacted me back, and when I called the office, the receptionist gave me a rough runaround, I never got results or any response. Worst Dr. I've seen in my entire life. Aside from my rant, I gotta say, the Echo is known to be a quite valuable diagnostic tool, much safer than X-ray. Keep yer chin up! Frank
I don't know if I want to see my heart but I'll see when I get there how I feel. The EKG was easy, everyone was right about that. Worst part was I was freezing and the girl took forever to attach those thingies. Then the unexpected Pap smear, so had to undress again. Asked me if I was sexually active. Lololololol I don't think I'll have dr problems. I've been going there 13 years and he's a good cardiologist. Whatever will be will be....
Medical tests and procedures are never fun, the most you can hope for is that the are quick. I have to go to the doctor sometime too, I am not looking forward to it, but will be, will be. I am in UVA study as well, and I will have my last visit coming up later this month. That is a very long day...and involves multiple blood draws and so forth, however, you are fed well at the conclusion of the day...and that part I like!!! Plus I am paid like 250 dollars for each in patient admission...so I can put up with a day of discomfort for that..besides...it is a good way to monitor your general health.
Pardon me for my ignorance. Is ECG the same as EKG? Last month, my husband was suffering from acute abdominal pains probably caused by indigestion. The doctor had sent him to the lab for blood chemistry, x-ray and ecg. Except for his high cholesterol level, everything seemed okay with his blood chemistry result. His doctor has no remark on his x-ray so probably it's also okay. But with the ecg, the doctor noted the remark - INCOMPLETE RIGHT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK - which may be caused by the high blood pressure that my husband was experiencing when he took the ecg test. There's also another remark in the bottom - LEFT AXIS DEVIATION. My husband did not seek elaboration from the doctor. He will be back on July 14 so I will remind him to clarify that ecg issue with the doctor.
Yes, same thing, @Corie Henson ... standing for electrocardiogram. Now, considering there's a c in there and not a K, I'm not sure why we hear EKG more often! Will you be going with him next time? Often a patient is nervous or stunned by what they hear, and don't always catch everything doc says, so good idea to have someone else there. I'm not sure if that is customary in your culture or not, but it's rather common here. In any case, best of luck to your hubby at his return visit!