Tomorrow morning at 8am I have an appointment with my new Heart Specialist here: http://cardioacadiana.com/ They have all the equipment to do any testing I need here. I'm really glad my PCP was able to get me in with this new Specialist so fast, but I'm feeling anxiety...so please lift me up in prayers and positive thoughts if you have a moment. And thank you. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I will know what is going on with my heart and that would be a good thing.
@Babs Hunt don't be surprised if they do all your tests, and then give you another appointment to come back so they can tell you the accumulated results. That's what happened to me. It seems that sometimes the people that run your tests are not the same people that evaluate those very tests. So don't get discouraged if this happens. Prayers and positive thoughts are on their way now. Let your faith calm you.
Good luck Babs, I had an abnormal ekg this summer when I had my wellness test for Medicare but even though I was anxious it turned out okay and that abnormal reading is "normal" for me. I was lucky though because my regular dr happens to be a cardiologist and I had the echocardiogram and stress test follow up in his office and the results right away.
Okay....the good news is my new Heart Doctor and his Office Staff were all wonderful. I had the first appointment of the morning (8am) and was actually in the exam room at 8am. The Nurse came in took my vitals then sat in the room with me and entered my meds into the laptop. She also asked some questions and then explained she was going to hook me up to the EKG. Fifteen minutes later she left and within 10 minutes my new Doctor entered the exam room introduced himself to me and my husband. He asked me to tell him what was going on with me, I told him and he then checked my heart rhythem and neck pulses while asking more specific questions. Then he explained that he was going to start with me wearing the Holter heart monitor for 24 hours. If that didn't show anything he would probably want me to wear it for a two week time period. From there he explained the next step would be setting me up for an ultrasound of my heart....and then a stress test. I liked my new Doctor just fine and so did my husband. The stress test is going to be a Pet Scan so I still have to do this test. I explained that the only reason I was concerned about taking this test was because of the chemical they would inject me with that I may have allergic reactions too. He said to take a Benedryl 30 minutes before the test and he assured me that they have all the things needed in case I had a reaction. So I'm still feeling some anxiety about this chemical injection....but I will not be taking this test until Feb. 1st. The Ultrasound will be done on Jan. 27th and I'm hoping if there is anything wrong it will show up in that test and with the Holter monitor. Dr. Ali and his wonderful staff has helped to start healing the nightmare of Friday the 13th and I am truly thankful for this.
Good news Babs, its half the battle won having a good doctor that you feel at ease with Wishing you well
That is a great report and truly and answer to prayers for you ! I am so glad to hear that things went like they should this time. I think that if there are abnormal heartbeats, the Holter monitor will pick them up, and since you will be sending in the reports from it every day, the doctor will be able to see really fast what all your heart is doing. The echocardiogram is interesting, and I like watching on the little monitor when they are looking at my heart. The sounds are weird, almost like something underwater. They will be able to tell what your ejection fraction (EF) is at with the echo, so you will know what percentage your heart is working at. Before the heart procedure, mine was down to about 23%ef, but now, with the diet and exercise, and being out of a-fib, even the heart failure improved so much that the last echo said I was pretty much back out of heart failure. It sounds like you. Have found a doctor that you feel comfortable with to take care of your heart this time, @Babs Hunt , and I am so glad to hear this. We will be keeping you in our prayers, and hoping for good results from the tests.
Did you have to have a Pet Scan @Yvonne Smith? I am trying to understand why the echo would not be enough to tell what is going on.
If I did, it was not called that, @Babs Hunt . I have had the chemical stress test (twice) but that is what they called it; so I am guessing that there is some kind of difference between the two procedures. I did not like the chemical stress test; but I think that Ina said both she and her husband were given one, and they both had no problems with it; so I guess it varies from person to person, and maybe what chemicals they use for the test. The second one that I had was not as scary as the first one; but then, I had a better idea of what to expect (plus, I HAD survived the first one) on the second one. Once you have those tests and they know what is going on with your heart, you should not need to keep having them at least not unless something else happens that they need to run the tests again later.
@Babs Hunt, I had the treadmill stress test and only if I couldn't do that would I have had to do the chemical stress test. I was ready to drop the last 20 seconds but kept going knowing that if I stopped then I'd have to either try again or do the chemical one. I had to keep going til my heart rate reached 130 or 160, I forget now.
Yesterday at 9:30am I went back to my Heart Doctor's office and had the heart ultrasound or echo for short. Then I came home again hoping I would hear something from my Doctor. But on Friday's his Office closes at Noon...so I'm sure he didn't even check my echo before he left for the weekend. And I have heard nothing about the heart monitor I had to wear for 24 hours either....or about the blood test results. I tell myself that must be good news or surely my Doctor would have called me...but honestly, I would like to know something one way or the other anyway. It looks like it will be as @Ina I. Wonder said that I shouldn't be disappointed if I have to wait for the results. I am disappointed though with the way Health Care is being handled these days and even though I like my new Heart Doctor, I don't like that he did not notify me about any of my results yet. I told the Nurse yesterday that I will not do the Nuclear Pet Scan stress test because of the stuff they would have to inject in me that could worsen my asthma and heart palpitations. She didn't want to take no for an answer but I told her there was no reason I couldn't take the regular stress test on a treadmill and that Dr. Ali and I were going to have to have a talk about this when I saw him. My appointment with him isn't until February 20th and if he isn't going to look at my echo before then....and let me know something one way or the other...I will be calling to see why I haven't found out any results long before that appointment. They have enough information right now to tell me something if the Doctor sits down long enough to look at everything. Right now the way things are if I have a problem I will just have to go to the ER because I have no idea what is happening with my heart.
@Babs Hunt , I know it's scary. But you need to calm yourself before you cause yourself harm. Take a few deep breaths before you call your doctor's office on Monday, and set up the physical stress text so they can finish the diagnostics. Then you can push for an evaluation appointment. It took three months when I went through the process last summer. Each test does tell them something, but it's like a jigsaw puzzle, it takes all the tests before a complete picture can be seen clearly. So you still need that last test before your diagnosis can be completed. But you wil hurt yourself if you keep worrying at this pace. You can not hurry up tomorrow. Where in your bible would you look to find strength for patience? I do understand just how you feel though. I use to leave all that up to my Michael, and he did the worrying. Now that I have to do it for myself I can see just how mind boggling the whole process of medical world really is. I'll keep you in my prayers.
I appreciate your concern Ina I really do. It's not about this being scary...it's about it not being a safe test for me to take with the health problems I already have. I have prayed about the Nuclear stress test and have received no peace about taking this test and I won't do it without that peace. There are other options here and I will glad to speak with my Doctor about those other options....but I won't take a test I have no peace about taking. My Doctor is a partner with me in my health care...and we need to work together here.
I agree Babs. That's why I suggested you try to set an appointment for the physical stress test as soon as possible this coming Monday. If you feel well enough for it, I think that's your best way to go. But if you wait until you can be face to face with your doctor, it will take even longer to get through it all. They can do the physical test before you can get your one on one with the doctor. Let us know how you decide to proceed. (((Hugs)))
@Ina I. Wonder I told the Nurse who kept trying to talk me into getting the Nuclear stress test that I was willing to take the physical stress test on the treadmill but she only seemed to be interested in me taking the Nuclear one. So when I talked to the Assistance who was canceling the Nuclear test for me I asked her when I could expect to hear some results on my ultrasound, etc. and she told me if the Doctor saw something wrong he would be calling me. She told me they would inform the Doctor of my cancelation of the Nuclear testing and my willingness to take the regular tread mill stress one. So I should be hearing back this week. If I haven't heard anything by Wednesday morning I will call his Office and see what is what. I am doing alright in the meantime and if something should change in this respect I will call the Office if they are open and let them know of the change...or go to the ER if necessary. Thank you for caring Ina and for keeping me in your prayers on this.