First appointment with cardiologist..what questions to ask

[Mememe11]

A couple of months ago, after having chest pain/pressure and shortness of breath I went to gP, who said an ecg was showing I had had a heart attack ? I then when to a&e who said it looked more like myocarditis as a result of covid. I wasn’t given any medication but referred for an echo/mri scan as outpatient. I have now had these and have an appointment with cardiologist on Friday. What questions should I ask cardiologist? It is a telephone consultation I am feeling a lot better now with very little symptoms but very anxious

I’m only 33 years old and never had an heart problems but there is a family history of heart attacks in young women in my family.

[Chappychap]

Make sure you mention that family history to your cardiologist, give the relationship to you and ages of your relatives that had heart issues. That's relevant information, that your cardiologist may not know, but could influence your treatment.

You also need a diagnosis, your medical team so far have given opinions, but it sounds like you haven't so far had a clear diagnosis. If you're unclear about the diagnosis you might ask the cardiologist for a simplified explanation of what the condition means in layperson's language.

Once you've got a diagnosis you need to know about the prognosis or outlook. How will your illness likely develop, what treatment is recommended, and what can you personally do in terms of life style changes to improve your condition.

It might helps to take notes, or to conduct the call on a speaker phone and have someone else take notes.

Good luck!