I don’t really know what to call it but I’m suffering from the feeling you get when you’ve had a test, know the tester can’t tell you anything but are trying to work out whether they gave you a hint or not 🤔 I was just about to phone cardiology to ask whether my echo had been booked at all as I’d had two suggestions that an echo might be ‘justifiable’ but the second one was from a grumpy cardiologist who seemed very unenthusiastic so I didn’t trust him. But then I had a call to come in on a Saturday for an echo which I had last weekend. When it was finished the radiographer said she’d taken lots of pictures which would be sent somewhere I didn’t hear and ‘the doctor will be in touch with you’. So of course I’m asking myself is that the standard comment or did it mean something: ‘lots of pictures’ and ‘the doctor will be in touch’ says to me there’s a deterioration ( my mitral valve is leaky) which would explain the spells of breathlessness and exhaustion I’ve been having, or it could just mean she did a thorough examination and I’ll eventually get a report. I know it’s pathetic and you can laugh but does anyone else do this? I’ve had a run of ill health since May and I’ve developed health anxiety, just feeling fragile which I didn’t before 😥
AF ‘paranoia’ - echocardiogram - Atrial Fibrillati...
AF ‘paranoia’ - echocardiogram
PS and the funny thing is that apart from the episode which started the health issues off I’ve hardly had any AF!
Just read your post and resonate with the “health anxiety” when having tests done. I am anxious before and after while waiting for the results. I think it is normal procedure for the echo results to go back to the specialist who asked for it to be done. I didn’t get my results until a few weeks after, when l went to see my cardiologist. It was ok. All l can say to you is that, if there was anything seriously wrong you would be contacted fairly quickly. I don’t think anyone will laugh at you because being worried is not fun. It’s positive that your AF has now subsided. I have had a run of ill health since my last Covid booster, which l had a bad reaction to. I hope you soon get the results and all is well.
SOP Buff. Standard operating procedure. These people are not allowed to discusss what they see with patients and refer them to their treating doctor. Dont over think this, it is normal. If you ask them "did you do a good job of the echocardiogram" they might say yes but about all.
Hi,I think that's just a routine phrase, they have said the same thing to me and everything was fine.
I sometimes think they are trying to reassure but don't really know what to say, and we can misinterpret anything when we are worrying.
So try not to worry 🙂
I knew that really but just want to know the result sooner! I don’t know if I’m worried the result will be bad which would explain my tiredness, or worried it will be fine which will make me look as though I was making too much fuss cardiac wise and will also mean there must be another explanation which could be something worse. Over active Imagination, no need to say it!
I don't think you can make too much fuss cardiac wise - always best to be proactive. If you just keep quiet they don't realise you have a problem!We all worry and want to have the answers there and then and we all imagine the worst at times.
Waiting is the worst part.
I've just remembered, after my last echo I asked did everything look ok, and she said if there was anything to worry about they wouldn't be letting me go home.
It was an outpatient appointment, not A&E.
But she still said lots of pictures and the doctor would be in touch.
And I still worried!😂
I had exactly the exact same reply lovedog
My fatigue has worsened this year. Falling asleep once I sit and relax. I have leaky Mitral and Aortic valves and during a phone consult last week with a doctor from my cardiologist’s team, he said that if Mitral valve leaks worsen, it’s usually very slowly. Mine hasn’t changed over 7 years and he said he would suggest an echo to check the situation. He then said “ we will see if anything has changed, and if it has, maybe we will consider a valve op in about 5 years “. I don’t get the impression valves like to be dramatic ☺️
Annie
As a rabid overthinker I would be just like you. Knowing about the system does not stop me hanging on every word!! We like an explanation but don't know why we are happy if there is good reason to "worry" the doctor.If we feel unwell then it needs to be investigated and whether it shows in test results or not, symptoms are no less real.
I remember the relief when I was diagnosed with AF on my first overt episode which only resoved with same day cardioversion after several years of "attacks of nerves". Never any heart symptoms of any sort. A physical reason seemed more acceptable!
My husband has got a cancellation appt for echo tomorrow. Of course it's a cancellation or wasCons "very concerned" and marked it urgent. We second guess every idle remark by HCPs.
What you were told sounds like an attempt to be reassuring.
Feel for you, Buffafly and by no stretch of a fevered imagination are you being pathetic! Anyone who has had any medical tests to investigate symptoms, or previous worrying results, would empathise greatly - and most will feel the same. I certainly do.
Like everyone seems to be saying, my understanding is they would not (and aren’t allowed to) tip you a hint if there were problems on the echo. They’d alert a consultant directly and if necessary, someone would speak to you properly. Otherwise it would just be the usual procedure of results being sent to the referring doctor/cardiologist. But when there’s been some deterioration in how we feel, it makes us more anxious and we listen for every clue, even when it isn’t a clue.
I fully expected the worst after an abdominal ultrasound a while back, as there was a lot of ominous silence and more images taken than I’ve ever known before. And to crown it all, the sonographer said ‘I’m going to send these images to your GP today (it was a Friday afternoon) you’ll hear from them after the weekend!”!! I honestly expected some horrendous diagnosis and was on the phone to my GP surgery first thing on the Monday!! Turns out the results were nothing changed and completely as expected, just an unusually efficient system in place.
I hope you have your mind put at rest soon… and especially that you start to feel better even without intervention. 🙏🏻 You’ve had a rotten time and it’s no wonder you’re feeling fragile. Jxx
When I had my last ultrasound about two years ago, the appointment letter stated that someone would discuss the results with me right afterwards. When I asked about that they said that it wasn't the standard procedure, so no one would be telling me the results and I'd have to wait until a cardiologist had looked at them. I was very cross about being misinformed. From what I can remember after receiving the appointment they had asked if I was available for an earlier appointment and I had said I was. I think that was the reason I had no consultation right afterwards.
Like you I have had a slightly leaky mitral valve for several years. All was fine with my results.
Jean
It is terrible the way that being a cog in a chain of 'authority' seems to encourage people to communicate unclearly. I wish you all the best.
Health anxiety is certainly relevant with AF. I have tried to reduce anxiety in other areas to reduce the overall burden but the only two 'treatments' I have been modestly successful with have been taking on something new and exciting in your life (even if hard work) and prayer.
I’m just the same and analyse all comments made after any test, then go home and fret till the results come through. It’s just the way we are made. Hope your results are fine.
It’s normal procedure I’ve been waiting since 8th August for my results. Frustrating
hi EHeart. Might be worth chasing up the results. I had a cardio MRI on July 30. After 4 weeks of no result I phoned the cardiac admin lady who said the report has been generated on Aug 20 and I should have had my copy - but she would send a copy that day. 1 week later and still no report so yet another phone call to request my copy - the admin said it had been sent and it was Royal Mails fault! Ho hum!! She the sent a copy which came the next day.
the results of the MRI was much more positive than the echo and I am very glad I got the MRI. But I did assume no news was good news plus I am not a worrier but the principle was that I should have got that report.
the Health Care Professionals who carry out ECGs and Echocardiograms are not trained to interpret them.
A Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist does that.
My information is that the sonographer does the analysis and would be able to tell during the test if there is ‘something to see’ which is why echos vary so much in the time they take. Afterwards they analyse the pictures for a report to the cardiologist who requested the test.
I also understand the process to be as you described. Report produced by the sonographer shortly after performing the echo.
My last (second) echo was in fact performed by a locum cardiac physiologist (no less). And she already knew, when I inquired, that I had been referred because of my concerns about a previously unmeasured ASA (atrial septal aneurysm). And while adhering to the non-disclosure to patients protocol, at the end she did very helpfully reveal that my ASA was rather small and unremarkable and not something to worry about. She even mentioned the distance the ASA was moving. Given that it later took 3 months to get a look at the report produced, without that sonographers reassuring comment, I would have been unnecessarily worrying for those 3 months because of the increased stroke risk associated with ASAs. So well done my cardiac physiologist. And I only finally saw the echo report after multiple unanswered eConsults to my GP, and then when being seen by a different GP 3 months later about a different matter, and after complaining again, he helpfully printed me a copy.
My one and only echo was done by my cardiologist. He could not finish it as he got concerned he was hurting me too much- my chronic rib pain was bad that day. He said next time he would do a cardiac MRI but I don't want that if it involves gadolinium contrast.
Thanks for that useful information about the gadolinium used in an MRI. Sorry to hear about the aborting of your only transthoracic echocardiogram because of chronic rib pain. That seems to have put a block on a potentially very valuable diagnostic tool, which I presume also looks for possible AAAs (abdominal aortic aneurysm) and descending and ascending AAs. So I am somewhat surprised that your cardiologist is happy without those echo results.🤔 But hey, I'm all too aware of my ignorance in these matters.
It was done as a standard request before my first hip replacement. I expect if I went back for another appointment and asked for another he might do one. But as my rib pain is again very bad I'm loath to do that. Also I might get get a telling off for not having been for 3 years when I am supposed to go at least every two years! I' m not a very good patient.
It's not pathetic. Health anxiety is real, and it's horrible! I've been there. Have you thought about getting help with it? I battled for almost 4 years on and off with mine due to developing AF during the pandemic. Tried various things. Oddly enough it was listening to someone reading am extract from a book mt Dr Claire Weeks - a GP supposedly the start of modern approaches to anxiety treatment - that helped turn me around. I'd be happy to send you the YouTube link if you're interested. There's also a good book recommended to me by another forum member a while back which I've attached.
I'm sure other members will tell you the practitioner was trying to be friendly and just behaving normally about your echocardiogram. They're not supposed to tell us the results. But that isn't the point - you feel anxious - and have noticed it's an ongoing thing. You're not alone, and there is help.
Thank you very much for your kind and helpful comments. I have been a bit battered this year with a cascade of illnesses, infections bad reactions to medications and worsening osteoarthritis - the last straw was when my children kindly urged me to apply for a blue badge 😬
PS re health anxiety. I still get it and anxiety about anything really. But I'm better at noticing it and have ways of dealing with it so my life is better.
Hi Buffafly. Health anxiety is normal - we’re allowed to feel jittery sometimes! I woke from a dream last night in which my Afib had returned along with some awful signs of heart failure and I was surrounded by family all worrying about me! I’m familiar with health anxiety and still remember my mum and the consultant speaking in hushed tones behind a curtain when I had check ups for a hole in the heart! Maybe my dream was a warning to get help lifting the carpet cleaner we’ve hired upstairs today!
I think you have over-read the situation. The technician will not have found anything at that point and the software analysing the scan will be run later and then assessed in line with your previous scans or medical history.
And all will be well! I trust.
Steve
Of course I have! In a funny way I want there to be a deterioration to prove to the dismissive cardiologist that my symptoms are justified ☺️
Hi, Buffafly. Maybe it's time to give the dismissive cardiologist some of his own medicine and dismiss him! I'm sorry you've had such a rough year.
Brian
That's a perfectly normal comment. By saying she'd taken loads of pictures she was trying to reassure you that they had enough to see clearly what was going on. Seeing the consultant is just routine. I've only ever had one person comment on a test they'd done and that was after my echo post heart attack when she couldn't stop herself from thinking out loud and said "Ooh that's good" and because she'd said it, she was forced to explain that I had only minimal damage to my heart. I'm so glad she did even though it was a mistake to say anything at all. I was recently called back for a second chest x ray which left me wondering and worrying why for 6 weeks but they wouldn't/ couldn't tell me anything.
Would give my eye teeth just to have an echocardiogram!
Been told this very afternoon that the wait in the NHS Tayside area is now 27/28 months from referral. Still, on the plus side, it's already 4.5 months since I was referred, so only 23.5 to go...
Clearly I'll have to go private (again; last time was October 2022) at a cost of circa £400.
Let's compare notes: how broken is your local NHS?!
Eeeek! My local NHS is not too bad generally. I think that’s possibly because I live in a part of the country that’s pretty nice to live in and there are quite a lot of well off pensioners around ……
Dundee itself apart, Tayside is a low-population, largely rural area with pockets of deprivation but not anywhere near in the same league as the Central Belt.
Much of it therefore has to be down to politics, priorities, management, and how funds are used. Bar a few honourable exceptions, engaging with any part of NHS Tayside is an absolute shambolic nightmare!
Having had a number of echocardiograms I would say this sounds a very standard response. I came up with a question that worked for me, I said “I understand you cannot tell me what the results are but may I ask are you happy with my heading home today?” The reality, with hindsight, was the severe stenosis has escalated significantly but they were indeed happy to send me home. Now three months post Op for AVR. The Echocardiogram tells them what they need to know, I interpreted that as a comfort for me. I did chase up to make sure my surgeon had viewed the results but felt little else was in my remit. Focused deep breathing helps me calm my heart rate. Very best of luck.
Aortic Valve Replacement for anyone else like me who didn’t know ☺️
🫣
I think that you may have been catastrophising, an unhelpful cognitive bias which is a common feature of anxiety (and depression). It is easy to fall into this way of thinking during times of stress.
Why can't they tell you there and then?, it would save a lot of stress and anxiety related problems. I go to my Cadio annually, his assistant operates the machine and the pictures go through to his computer on his desk in the next room. I get dressed go to his room and he tells me the results.
Know how you feel have also felt like that after tests!!
Hi Buffafly , I was told by an advanced nurse practitioner (I never get to see a GPs these days) that with regard to test results 'no news is good news in the NHS , if there is a problem you will be contacted ' .
I still haven't heard results from the worrying Echo I had some months ago to see why I was still breathless following a partly successful ablation and restarting my flecainide.
I say worrying because halfway through the echo the radiologist stopped and with an anxious face went to a telephone in another room and I heard her say ''I am concerned something I have seen is not normal'' then she returned and continued the echo . When she finished she said 'don't go home stay in the waiting room you may need to see someone'' so I sat in the waiting room for 40 minutes before being told I could go home. I have heard nothing since although I was due a check up in July with the EP who did the Ablation . I am still here so the problem can't have been too bad.
Incidentally I applied for a blue badge in the spring and was denied one . I have severe osteoarthritis in both hips and my spine, I can only stand unaided for a couple of moments but can walk a little way with a walking pole. Apparently I need a report from a muscular skeletal consultant the x ray results are not sufficient . I asked to see a MSC just before COVID and the waiting list then was 2 years.
I have had so many health problems of late (including a damaged nerve in my thigh following the ablation causing excruciating pain which took 3 months to heal and temporal arteritis requiring high dose steroids with awful side effects) dying from some strange thing seen on the echo actually seemed like a good option 😀. No regrets about the Ablation my AF has been stable for some months.
I’m sorry about your health problems, it is very depressing having one thing after another. I’m hoping desperately my run of ailments is nearing its end, but I do have two things I think I should see the GP about (luckily I have a great GP, very conscientious and no problem about seeing her) but I can’t decide which one is more urgent so haven’t booked an appointment at all!
I am pretty sure I wouldn’t be eligible for a blue badge but I have chosen a lovely mobility scooter.
Regarding the techie’s comment, she did mean it because I have been given a phone appointment with a cardiologist for 8th October although I haven’t had the results. Maybe they will arrive next week.
Best wishes ❤️🩹
Hi Buffafly, I hope all is well when you eventually get the Echo results and enjoy your scooter 😀 I don't think I could manage one here on a narrow country lane with tractors going up and down. Thank goodness for online deliveries which mean I can manage shopping without having to carry things.
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