Echocardiogram Advice Please

[1290Duke]

Good evening all.

Looking for a bit of advice from those with more experience than me please.

I had first, and to date only Afib episode back in March 22. Today I had my echocardiogram having waited 10 months for it. Following the scan I asked the person that did the scan if there was anything to worry about and was told there wasn't. However, there were two NHS staff in the room at the time and one or two sentences between the two that I didn't understand worried me.

I'm sure I read somewhere on here that the 'technician' that does the scan isn't qualified to interpret the results and that it goes to a cardiologist for a review. They told me that a copy of the report would be sent to my GP, but again I'm not sure that a GP is the best person to be interpreting the report. So, my question would be, am I correct in thinking that the scan should be reviewed by a cardiologist?

What I basically would like to know is, what are the (correct) next steps from here so that I can understand what condition my heart is in?

[Paulbounce]

Hi Duke.

I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. The result will end up in your cardio's hands. If you got a 'nothing to worry about' from the technician you're doing well. I dug and dug for a hint but she wouldn't give anything away.

I would stop worrying completely - the chances are it will be OK. If not you can reevaluate things then.

Paul

[mjames1]

Raw data on an echo often sounds a lot worse than it is, both to a patient or even a non-cardiac savvy professional.

So ignore any conversation you may have heard and definitely do not "google" the results before you discuss them with your doctor.

A cardiac savvy GP should be able to interpret it for you, but preferably a cardiologist, especially if something is flagged.

Jim

[1290Duke]

Paul and MJames, thank you both for the responses. Good shout on posting the results on here, I'll do that if I'm not happy with whatever my GP has to say.

[Jalia]

In my experience and that of my husband , the report goes first to the doctor, be it the cardiologist or GP, who ordered the Echo.

I have in the past asked the technician if they could tell me what my ejection fraction was and was given a reassuring reply

.My advice to you would be to wait a few weeks and then ask to see/speak to your GP to have the results explained to you.

[1290Duke in reply to Jalia]

Thankyou Jalia, that's what I'll do. Having waited 10 months to get this far I don't suppose another few weeks of waiting matters very much.

[Achant1]

I got told if there’s anything untoward they get red flagged and your cardiologist or ep would be in touch straight away, if there was anything to worry about that’s when they wouldn’t tell you, they do a lot of scans a year and they know so rest assured.

[1290Duke in reply to Achant1]

Thanks, that's good to know.

[etheral]

What specifically are you concerned about or don't understand? etheral

[1290Duke in reply to etheral]

Couple of things they said that stuck in my mind, "doesn't appear to collapse" and "some minor". In both instances they didn't actually state what those comments where in reference to as they where talking to each other and I couldn't see the screens they where looking at as I was on my left side facing away from them. There was also a couple of "mmms" between the two of them so when all taken together it got me thinking that there was more to it than they were letting on.

[CDreamer in reply to 1290Duke]

Just a thought - sometimes it’s easy to assume that an overheard conversations are about you - could have been about someone else entirely and if there were 2 NHS staff then it could also have been an observational training session so the technician was giving explanations. It’s so easy to take things out of context.

If there are red flags on the echo I am sure you will hear about it quite quickly.

[etheral]

Hope you can get a copy of the actual report. The remarks you overheard are too vague to speculate on. Doesn't sound to me that there's anything to worry about..Best etheral

[fairgo45]

Firstly it's pointless asking the technician they always say there are so many images to study from the Echo that it takes a few days for the result.

I always ask for a copy of the echo to be sent to me.

My cardiologist sends me a letter as well explaining what has been found.

A few weeks ago my Echo showed severe pulmonary arterial hypertension so I'm having a Right Heart Catheter on Thursday to confirm if this is the case or not.

Wish me luck !

[CDreamer in reply to fairgo45]

All the best and hope all goes well - do let us know.

[wilsond in reply to fairgo45]

Fingers crossed ,please update when you can xx

[Buffafly in reply to fairgo45]

I do! 🍀

[Peacefulneedshelp in reply to fairgo45]

Hope all goes well. Nice that you got an explanation

[etheral in reply to fairgo45]

Wishing you best of luck. Hopefully the right heart catheter will show normal pressures as an Echocardiagram is frequently misleading when it comes to this diagnosis. etheral

[fairgo45 in reply to etheral]

Thanks I hope your right.The reason for the RHC is because 2 Echos in a row have come back severe 73 then severe 90 so this is the gold standard test one way or another I'll know

[bobboberts]

My experience was that the cardiologist reviewed the results of the echo, then submitted these to the GP for their records. I also got a copy (presumably abridged)

[wilsond]

A copy is sent to your GP for their records. The cardiologist or whoever requested it,interprets it,so please dont worry.Xx

[Sniggetts]

Hi there,

When I recently had my echo , I asked if all ok. The radiographer didn’t say much, just that she has to go off and look at it more thoroughly and take some measurements from the images, she then had to write a report which will go to the cardiologist who will then pass the report to the Gp.

I did have an enlarged left atrium & mild leaky valve which apparently is very common with AF & cardiologist isn’t overly concerned. Had CT angiogram too … report went to cardiologist in 4 days ! I was terrified, but it was all fine …. Phew.

Now on diltiazem & flecanide combo , so far so good 😊 🤞🏻…. Just a few strange heart bumps & beats but no daily runs of crazy AF … yay !

[ozziebob]

Seems annoyingly inappropriate behaviour by the observers at your Echocardiogram.

Re the results obtained by the cardiac sonographer, I obtained a copy of mine (which includes a list of Conclusions) via the NHS App, but you might have to ask your GP to allow access to such test results. But this should be just a formality.

And your GP may add medical notes of his own that you can also access.

[1290Duke in reply to ozziebob]

Exactly my thoughts. If they're going to comment knowing you can hear they should at least explain their comments to avoid misunderstanding. Thanks for the tip on the NHS app, wasn't aware of that.

[MacGrumphy]

A cardiologist will review the scan and send it to your GP who will pass on the results to you and answer any questions you may have.

[Peacefulneedshelp]

What my tech told me is that she couldn’t tell me much but that if there was anything seriously wrong she wouldn’t be letting me go home she would be admitting to the hospital. So there is that. It did take forever to get the results and I was told that a copy would be faxed to my GP but my GP tells me they never got a report. I did get a report in my medical portal but did have to do a bit of searching to find it.