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
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.
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.
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