My doctors are determined to blame my ongoing chest tightness and shortness of breath symptoms on just anxiety, despite growing evidence of me having a leaky valve somewhere and having a strong family history of cardiac symptoms.
I have my own kardia 6l monitor to catch my symptoms in the act. The example I shared is my most recent one while symptomatic - though not the worst example for now - and even to my untrained eye, something isn't right about it. It looks flat on some lines?
Hello SquigglesSkittles
This forum is a peer to peer forum, there is no one who can answer your questions. We are not medical trained just people who have had heart issues and will try and pass on what we have learnt from our experiences. Reading an ECG is something we can’t do and by the rules of the forum not allowed to do .
Maybe go to your GP and see if you can get a ECG at the hospital and then a professional well read it.
Take care
You say Doctors, so I presume that more than one has examined & seen previous ECG's & are of the same opinion. I would suggest if you are still unhappy to go Private to alleviate your fears for a further opinion & tests .
Had a pair of echocardiograms done in 5 years. The first showed some kind of leaky valve, for some reason the 2nd did not.
Interpreting echos is not an exact science. Sometimes it can appear that there is some problem but on further examination everything is fine. For example on my last echo the Dr thought I had a small pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart). Further investigation showed that this was not the case.
It is also the case that a leaky valve may or may not cause symptoms so any issues that you have are not necessarily due to a valve problem.
I appreciate that your anxiety led to you buying the monitor but it is not surprising that the Drs will not consider them. They are not secure in the knowledge that the monitor is being used correctly, that it is working as it should and that it is properly maintained. If they made a diagnosis on the basis of your own ECGs they could make a serious error.
As others have said, your best course would be to see a cardiologist privately. That is how my first diagnosis was made having been told by previously that I was just anxious.
My cardiologist likes Kardia and I believe that some have even issued them to patients.
I think, like every 'average' person, every medic is different in how they feel about home monitoring equipment. Mine took some convincing but now he's completely on-board to the point of happily checking a spreadsheet log I send him once a month reporting daily readings from my BP and oximeter.
He wasn't keen, in fact he came right out and said the equipment often gives false readings. So I brought it in with me and once he saw my equipment gave the same readings as his, he changed his opinion. I think it helps that I do take my BP monitor to the chemist (purchase point) for regular calibration - he knows I know I have to keep up with batteries and calibration to ensure accuracy.
But. But every medic is different and some are so resistant to home monitoring equipment it's pointless to continue trying to demonstrate the efficacy.
It is different when the Dr has issued it to you. They know that it has been calibrated and that you have been shown how to use it 🙂
Can I ask are you in the UK. ? And was it local cardio who reviewed your condition?
Based in the UK yep, it was a local NHS cardiologist.
Where ?
South west. I'm not comfortable being any more specific than that
Ok was only trying to help with some guidance in your area.
Sorry, but I have to defend the abilities of GPs to read an ECG. Although they are not expert, they can certainly interpet the basics, just as paramedics and nurses do. A comparison to dog groomers is not helpful or respectful. Best wishes.
Specialists grade leaky heart valves as 'mild', 'moderate' and 'severe'. My own is on the moderate spectrum and a cardiac surgeon told me to have annual scans to make sure it did not deteriorate, but that while it remains stable, it does not need surgical intervention and in fact, I may have it for the rest of my life and never need an op. (I take a beta blocker, bisoprolol, but I think that is more for my high blood pressure than the valve.) So it would be useful for you to know what grade your leak is; if it was severe, I think the hospital would certainly have taken things further at the time.
It’s worth being persistent if you feel something isn’t right. Test sometimes don’t tell the full story and can sometimes be the wrong test for what your symptoms. In my experience if you look inwardly and can honestly ask yourself, am I panicking or could I be ready more into the symptoms? If the answer is in the negative then I would say carry on fighting and push for whatever tests are required. Good luck in finding answers.
A 6 lead kardia trace is good enough to see basic arrhythmia but for accurate diagnosis one needs a 12 lead read by cardiologists.
From what I see is that the wave durations such as QTc, PR, QRS are all within normal readings. This is not a diagnosis but merely an observation.
I must add that whenever I have attended my GP surgery with a heart related problem they immediately err on the side of caution & contact my cardiologist or send me directly to hospital a&e. They do the basic history symptoms & BP checks etc first but always err on safety preferring a specialists opinion I'm sure. Horses for courses I guess.
Of course and that is the professional thing to do.
I'd go private (have done, actually, and quite glad I did). You could also try requesting an ECG, taking your home monitor in with you and in the presence of the medic, run yours against theirs for a comparison - and insist on a full explanation of what the results signify.
If they continue saying it's anxiety, 'call their bluff' - say 'Right, anxiety. Well, it's adversely affecting my quality of life so can you please refer me to counselling?'
Doctors make mistakes so see if you can see another! One Doc told me on three visits my chest pains were reflux until a different Doc said straight away it was Angina. Main artery was almost blocked and I would have died from a heart attack. Stents now fitted.
I did not appreciate that you had said ‘beyond the very basics. However, I still think that comparing a GPnn to a dog groomer is not respectful. Imagine saying it to your GP’s face. 😕
The other issue of course is that the comparison doesn’t stand because they are qualified beyond the dog groomer to read an ECG. 🙂
High blood pressure and low heart rate, what do I need to know when talking to my Dr?
Need for colonoscopy when taking Eliquis (I don't advise reading this while having breakfast)
Valve Regurgitation- symptoms & when to operate?
Ecg rule out chances of potential cardiac problems.
preparations for Mitral valve op
