Waiting for ECG results

[Alnab01]

Hi all

I had an ECG done 11days ago. It was at the hospital after an appointment was made by the doctor. I have bad anxiety and I know my HR was high during the ECG. On the monitor it said 134.

Once it was finished, the nurse printed it and left the room saying she just needed to get it signed off. What does this mean? Was it checked by someone?

She came back and told me I'd get the result from GP in around a week. As of now I still don't have it. I phoned yesterday and was told that it was there but the doctor hasn't checked it. She said it wasn't flagged as urgent so would just be routine but that id now have to wait until Tuesday.

Does the ecg get checked at the hospital before being sent to the doctor?

If something was seriously wrong would I have heard by now and would it have been flagged up when it was returned to gp?

Sorry just looking for reassurance as it really has me all over the place due to my ongoing anxiety disorder.

Thanks

Alan

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello Alan and welcome to the forum!

You need to get a decent BP monitor to check your pulse and BP away from the GP/hospital environment. Maybe your GP or another forum member can suggest some appropriate online relaxation courses.

There is no need to worry about "signing off". It just means it is being checked to ensure it has been carried out correctly. I had one where the nurse mixed up the leads causing the doctor to observe "No living person has ever had a result like that".

If there was anything really serious you would have been contacted by now. A friend's result was so bad he was admitted straight away, transferred to Papworth and had a triple bypass all in five days. He said I only had a quadruple for one upmanship. I had if that was the case I would have had a quintuple for two upmanship! Hopefully you can find a way to stop excessive worrying!

[Alnab01 in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks for that. I do have a bp monitor and it generally OK. Has ranged from 114/74 to 125/85 depending on time of day and what I've been doing.

Heart rate when sitting watching tv or reading normally around 74bpm and low 60s when lying down. Even out walking etc it is less than the 134 it was at the hospital because I'm not anxious. Currently getting cognitive behaviour therapy to help with the anxiety.

Does an ecg get checked by a specialist in the hospital before going back to gp?

[Prada47 in reply to Alnab01]

On your last question answer is probably not, there probably wasn't a Specialist around !!! I have seen ECGs with a print out of what to look into further, like possible LBBB or wide QRS and other such stuff.

If I was you I would try to be relaxed as if there was anything Urgent you would have been contacted !!!

Hands Face Space Vaccinate

[Scooby40]

Hi had it been worrying they would not have allowed you to leave the hospital. I had an abnormal ecg and was admitted. If there was something to worry about it would have be dealt with very quickly. Hope this helps to reassure you?

[Hypatia123]

Hi. I am waiting for my results from a 7 day monitor too. It's been more than 3 weeks for me. And I too suffer from anxiety and panic attacks so its not great is it!? When my ecg was done during the appointment it was also 'signed off' and understand that this means there was no reason for me to be kept in the hospital...in other words nothing dangerous. Ive been through this a few times. I called my GP to chase up results. I was told there were delays due to Christmas and Covid and post (apparently NHS not able to send emails between authorities lol!)Sorry its causing you stress but hope it reassures you to know delays are common and if there was anything life threatening you wouldn't have been allowed to walk out the hospital and sometimes it's a good thing to be considered low priority by the doctor.

[Peony4575]

My understanding is the GP gets a report on your ecg . In the same way if you have an MRI the radiologist ( not radiographer) sends a brief report to the GP or indeed to another consultant saying what the principle findings are . The GPS aren’t expert enough to pick up some of the less obvious nuances . And the technician taking the ecg knows what the red flags are to call for help with . That’s my experience anyway

[Hidden]

Had my scan back in November still waiting for my results, assuming no news is good news!

[Alnab01 in reply to Hidden]

The wait is awful isn't it?

[Alnab01]

Thanks for your comments and reassurance everyone. Phoned again today (just over 2 weeks) and still not been checked by gp so assuming now nothing major.

Update. It seems that the wrong date was put on my ecg (22.11 instead of 22.12) hence why it hasn't been picked up by the gp. 3 times I've been told it has been mailed through as priority as it was missed and still nothing.