what happens at your first cardiologist appointment

[Golfingnrwby]

I had a cheat c ray and bloods and my heart and lungs are ok

I have experiences bouts of breathlessness after exercise ( golfing) my GP suspects angina. I’m 66.

I’ve been given aspirin and a spray not used it yet. I’ve been ok since I’ve been the aspirin.

I’m seeing the cardiologist next week and am wondering what to expect.

thanks for any replies in advance

[MummaSoap]

Hi Golfingnrwby

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been feeling unwell. It’s positive that you’ve had some results that are showing that your heart and lungs are looking ok.

In my experience, (from what I can remember) at my first appointment I was weighed and my height measured, had an ecg and took my blood pressure and heart rate. Then we had a chat about my lifestyle, diet and main triggers for my symptoms (although at that time my symptoms were there all day everyday).

If you think it might help, I would suggest writing a list of questions and taking it with you and you may find that the cardiologist will answer some of them throughout the appointment and then you can ask whatever is left if you feel they’re still relevant at the end.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes

Soap

[Golfingnrwby in reply to MummaSoap]

thank you Mummasoao. That’s really helpful.

I didn’t think of writing questions down i most certainly will now. I feel really reassured about my first appointment now

I’ll keep you posted and many thanks

[Digger0]

On my 1st cardio visit I had ECG, height, weight, BP done. Then I saw him and he asked me what my problems were (my GP had sent me for an echocardiogram beforehand so the consultant had the results). He asked about my ? asthma (which turned out to be bronchiectasis) etc. Then he discussed further progress - TOE etc and gave me some very mild water tablets. Write down your questions with space for the answers and write ut your symptoms - it's easy to forget when you are in the room! Good luck

[Golfingnrwby in reply to Digger0]

thanks so much. I’m

Writing my list today!

[Digger0 in reply to Golfingnrwby]

As LadyZ13 says, I recorded mine when I got to see the specialist in Adult congenital Heart Disease!

[Golfingnrwby in reply to Digger0]

thanks I hope your doing ok?

[Digger0 in reply to Golfingnrwby]

Yes thanks. Had my ASD closed with 2 devices at Liverpool Heart and Chest hospital and was home next day. I'm now doing 7+ km over Derbyshire hills as opposed to struggling coming up from the local shop 300 m away! I was 100% as from day 2, apart from leg strength that need building up!

[Golfingnrwby in reply to Digger0]

That’s brilliant and very encouraging

[LadyZ13]

Hello Golfingnrwby,One thing to add, if it helps - I was so, so pleased I asked the consultant if I could record our conversation.

My appointment came after a lot of diagnostics to work out what was wrong with my heart (enlarged right side) and the signs pointed to a congential issue but being all completely new to this I found I had to learn fast! It was almost an hour with the consultant while he explained the findings and what they wanted to do about it and I would definitely have forgotten some details had I not managed to get a complete record.

If you have a smartphone it will most likely have a built in voice recorder. On Android this is 'Recorder' and it also transcribes voice with surprising accuracy, so I had a transcript of everything the consultant said too.

The recording was backed up by a brief letter that the consultant sent to my GP which served as a good summary (ignoring all the 'and one day we might have to think about this' type of speculation).

Hope the appointment gives you answers and a plan to manage your heart health. Let us know how you get on!

Zoë

[Golfingnrwby in reply to LadyZ13]

what a great idea! Thanks so much

I’ll

Keep you posted

[Golfingnrwby in reply to LadyZ13]

what a great idea! Thanks so much

I’ll keep you posted