So, having had this test done on the last day of November and heard nothing back from my GP I decided to ring the surgery this morning.They told me it is usually around a 5 week wait before they get the results but perhaps ring the hospital.
I did this and was then told by the cardio respiratory department that the current waiting time for analysis is 16 weeks
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Instructor57
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You're not worried perhaps, but the one thing I have learnt over the last year is how many people suffer from anxiety and this sort of delay only makes things worse for them
Hi again Devonian, I completely agree, a year has passed for me and yet no real conclusion reached, I actually waited 6 weeks to get a holter monitor result, now waiting for 4th Jan for a heart ultrasound, I'm waiting for a date to have a CT cardio angioplasty scan to find out what the heck is going on.
I have noticed how things seem to be getting worse up till now I had not and it is not good at all
That is an awful long time to be waiting but lets hope that they at least look at them which I am sure they do even though we are waiting ages for the results and if anything looks like they need to get in contact sooner that they do so as the saying goes no news is good news so fingers crossed even though I am sure everything will be ok when you eventually get the results and will let s know when you do x
When I’ve had 24 he monitors in the past they told me they are looked at straight away so if you don’t hear anything from them it could mean all is well with results! Fingers crossed 🤞 and I wish you well
It took me a year from being referred for a holter on the NHS last year, to recently having had it done last month. Took 3 weeks for the results to come back however. Hope all is well and the wait time to hear back for yours reduces.
Yes, the same here. After an emergency hospital admission in August I was referred for one of these, still waiting. It's a 6 month wait. And yes, it increases anxiety no end.
hi Instructor57 , it’s awful the waiting times for tests , I had a heart attack in sept was told I would get a follow up appointment in 12 weeks which will be around now , rang the hospital last week and was told it will be more like 6 to 8 months !!! It’s so bad !
Hi bee2 it’s just awful the way things are ! Sorry to hear you’ve had no follow up appointment offered ! I can imagine it’s horrendous in A and E at the moment !! Wishing you well hope you are doing ok 😍
I had a visitor yesterday whose friend had been taken to A&E locally. She was 47 hours on a corridor before being seen. She had dozed off so she thought she was dreaming because she kept seeing soldiers. She wasn't dreaming; they'd called in the army.
Shocking but I had read in the papers that many places are inundated with flu and virus cases; many of them there because they can't get a GP appointment. But even last Spring a friend who'd had a hip replacement had bad bleeding from it. She was stuck outside the hospital in Evesham in an ambulance for over 27 hours. No wonder ambulance times are so bad
oh that’s just awful for your poor friend, I agree with you a lot of people going to A and E could be seen by the gp but they can’t get an appointment with one I’ve just been to the pharmacy attached to the doctors surgery and there wasn’t a single person in the docs waiting room !!!! It makes me so mad 😡
When my husband was ill and kept on cardiac ward Xmas Eve and day in 2017 the consultant said it was the best time to become ill if you had to go to a and e as all of sudden people stopped being ill for those two days and it seemed he was right as it was deserted lol
It’s so sad the level of aftercare that’s given to patients!! Keep making calls until you get an appointment it’s what we have to do !!! Good luck and merry Christmas to you 😍
My husband s had a stroke because of his AF and the doctor just told us to last week to stop looking at his Apple Watch and he wasn’t going to die from it as he was now on meds . Lovely bedside manner ….not . His ecg on watch was showing 171 , made us feel like we were being silly for worrying
I had mine done in March (also had an echo) for what I thought was an appointment in April 23, turns out the appointment is in April 24 so still waiting for results.
That's a long time, Was you waiting long to have the holster test done, I have been waiting since September 2023 to have a 72 HR holster test done, Good luck on the results when you get them
My husband had an annual scan in February 2023 for his bicuspid valve which had remained stable for many years
After several calls to find out the result he finally had a phone call from Registrar at 6.30 pm on a Friday evening in June to tell him another problem showed up on the scan which was probably hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and advised what this could mean but first further testing would be arranged to confirm diagnosis. Holter monitor , stress test and Cardiac MRI finally done in early September and just yesterday he received a letter from Consultant with MRI results only which did not show all the expected markers for cardiomyopathy so they will revaluate in 2-3 months and will do a genetic panel as well
Meanwhile we feel uncertain about the future and we worry
I had one done in May or June, I never got any results and I don't think anyone looks at it as the cardiologist in my local hospital doesn't seem to have time for anything. It's actually absurd that Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil has only one cardiologist.
I went to Italy and paid 132 Euros for mine, results in few days and they stay with me so I can see my records over time and bring them to any consultant in the world I want.
NHS just wasted my time, considering I have to go two times for a holter. They called me again when I was taking flecainide, which was the right thing to do, but as I knew they don't have any doctor to look at it, I refused and just stopped the flecainide.
I said this many times, I don't understand why we are accepting this. I don't understand why there aren't people occupying the hospitals until the government comes back with money and restructuring plan based on top European Standards of public health care.
Its not the money thats the issue, you can chuck more money at the NHS and it still wont get better, its ran very poorly, its corrupt, over bloated and totally inefficient, im sure we can all see the waste thats goes on the mind boggles sometimes!
If it was an independent business it would of been stripped down and re-organised years ago, too many people are getting very rich off it and its not the front line staff!
How very true! The funding thrown at the NHS increases substantially year on year but no improvement is ever seen due to the inept and inefficient way this monster is run. No amount of money will ever improve it unless it is completely restructured, which will never happen as long as the unions remain in control. As you quite rightly say, if this was an independent business of any sort it would have collapsed years ago without massive restructuring as it is, in truth, a failing organisation which can only deteriorate unless radical change is made. I can only describe the current (mis)management of this behemoth as shocking, and it would not be permitted in the private sector. I cannot see any way out in the near future.
In fact there can now be a wait for private services as the demand outstrips the supply! However, the private sector is not always superior to the state sector where health care is concerned, as it commonly employs the same medical professionals as the NHS. The only difference is that they work out of carpeted premises with flashy drunks machines. Yes, you may get to see a consultant or receive treatment earlier, but that does not mean the treatment itself is any better. I speak from wide experience of both sectors.
Exactly, all the cardiologists I have seen in the past are on the list at my local private hospital!" I did get offered a years preferential treatment if I took part in a study but I had been through enough and the tests were similar to what I've had before and risky.
Again I can't agree more, I find private care in the UK still below the quality of the public health care in Italy. It's sad, I can't stand it 😤
I had to wait 1 month for my first private consultant and he was really no good, his conclusions have since been contradicted by three other cardiologists. The private hospital sent me for pre-assessment before cardioversion the wrong day, I live one hour from hospital so it was over two hours wasted, they repaid the petrol but I found the whole experience so irrespecutful and demeaning.
I agree that's why I said it should be restructured on the model of efficient and effective european public health care system. Average life span is the longest where public health care works, same for quality of life.
But you were talking about the Government providing funding to introduce a European-style system! There has been a year-on-year increase in NHS funding for many years, but most of this money does little to actually benefit patients. Restructuring is absolutely vital if any form of NHS is to survive, but unionisation prevents such a radical step. Not all European health systems are better, and not all European countries have such a large population with such diverse needs. It is not always possible to replicate such systems as what works financially and strategically in one country may not do the same in another. We do not have sufficient doctors or nursing staff, as too few are being trained and too many are leaving their professions, leading to long waiting lists for appointments, for scans to be read, for assessments and treatment. No amount of money can change this, only funding for training will produce any improvement, and that will only be seen many years down the line, unfortunately.
I had an appointment at the stroke clinic last week. This was a follow up from an a and e visit in April 2022 (visual disturbance Post ablation).Luckily all OK and it was a reassuring appointment but....
I also waited 12 months for a breast clinic appointment. And had a biopsy 18 months after referral. Also, luckily it was benign. But a bit worrying.
I have to say all my cardiology appointments have been much more timely and I've been really impressed by them.
Me too ... incredible care. I postponed a holter test last week and have already had a new appointment date, reading all the other posts clarifies how fortunate I've been Postcode lottery indeed
Waited three months for my test results. I did contact the consultants secretary in the end and she said she to staff shortages and sheer volume it is a three month wait.
Lets face it no one in the Government or the NHS really care about how people are coping with the NHS delays.
Consultants & Drs are being greedy hence the strikes they are just as skilled as say an Electronics Engineer only they work on peoples bodies so we may die if they get it wrong, but that is no reason to hold the people to Ransom.
Personally I think the Government should publish the salary scale of all in the NHS lets see how much we are paying for the poor service we are receiving !! Next time you go to Hospital don't pay to park use the CEO car parking space afterall you helped pay for it and it Free for them !!!
Hi unfortunately the staff on the ground don't get that much it's ridiculous the big fat bosses get alot. When I worked as an Outreach worker with no Qualifications I was earning 29k (2010) a newly qualified Midwife who has life's in her hand was earning 18k. Alot of money is wasted on red tape. If they need pens they can't buy from Poundland for a £1 they have to purchase from an invoicing company so that10 pens for £1 becomes 1 pen for £10 . It really use to tick me off.
Hi Instructor 57, irritating to say the least to have to wait so long for the results. It does sound like you're pretty relaxed about it which is good, as I know alot would be anxious. My mum who is 89 and has heart failure was told by her consultant that she needs a 24 hour ecg check. She hadn't heard anything for a month so rang and was told as her case isn't urgent the wait is 77 weeks. She said she'd be happy if she was still alive in 77 weeks. However she isn't that bothered as last time she had one they changed medication and it made her condition worse. Hope your results are good when they eventually arrive.
I'm relaxed now as I have been very strict with my recovery, diet and excercise and I can see huge improvements.However I was very anxious in the early days following my heart attack in February
Hi, hope you are well?I'm sorry you're having to wait for results. It's bloody annoying. The NHS arrange tests and by the time someone gets round to analysing them they're out of date anyway. I had an exercise bike test early summer for my heart and lungs. Never got the results. Still awaiting report. Ended up having another one at another hospital. All the many tests I had this year have mostly been done more than once because the original ones were out of date. What a mess amd what a waste of money. The NHS is in such a mess.
I had an mri last Jan and had a follow up appointment for the feb where the results weren’t available apparently wouldn’t be for another 3 months. As I needed to know if I could fly I actually phoned the specialist mri unit to find out where the delay was. They had sent off the full report to my hospital the day after the scan. I then phoned the consultant secretary up and they were still waiting for it to be sent to them from some admin area in the hospital. I explained the situation about flying and they said they would chase it. In the meanwhile as I wanted answers I decided on a private consultation with my consultant. All of a sudden my mri report was readily available for a private appointment one week later. Ironically the nhs sec phoned me then to say it was now available. However I wa also told as my case wasn’t urgent or priority I wouldn’t be seen again on the nhs for at least 18 months as my covid associated myocarditis event was now resolved so no watching yearly check for me then, which is nhs guidance ☹️ just going to have to go private if I want any further reviews which I’m fortunate I can do.
Wow I feel your irritation. I had 72 hours one a few weeks ago and was expecting the results straight away like I got from Northwick Park. But no still waiting for results from Central Middlesex
Last ECG test I had done at my GP surgery looked abnormal (according to them) so they sent the results to my cardiologist.2 months later the Cardiologist sent a letter to me and my GP saying it looks as though lead 2 was loose and to repeat if I was having any symptoms (which I wasn't)
I had a 24hr Holter ECG following an ablation and was surprised to get a copy letter to the GP from the arrhythmia nurse in a couple of weeks. All was OK so although it is bad to have to wait so long, you would imagine that if any action was required, you would hear much soon. Having said that, my husband had to have a familial genetic cholesterol blood test done in January this year. The paperwork said the results would take 6 weeks as it has to go to London for analysis but the consultant told us it actually takes 9 months and we're still waiting!
Hi, unfortunately i think it's a bit of a postcode lottery, how busy the hospital is also recent events over the past few years haven't helped in sorting out the waiting times too. I've been under the cardiologist since 2020 and I've had many test done over the years, been given medication then had it stopped then fitted with an ilr (implant loop recorder) . Most of my appointments have been done over the phone with different doctors who never know my past history, all with their own views one saying I need a pacemaker to another telling me I'm too young. The last time I actually sat down with my cardiologist was back in January 2021 but its all phone appointments now. I'm still symptomatic with episodes weekly and was in a&e in march on a drip to lower my BP and hr but no follow up from my cardiologist. Its just frustrating and sometimes worrying knowing something isn't right but not getting the answers or having the opportunity to sit down with the cardiologist face to face seems the norm these days. So we still wait for appointments to be made then cancelled like mine was last month or for test results to come back months later and with no conclusion to it all. To be fair my hospital hasn't been that bad in getting test done compared to other people's experiences on here i just wish i could actually have an appointment with a cardiologist in person to try and get some answers to it all. They say no news is good news which might be reassuring but also frustrating 🤣. I hope you get the results soon and it's good news.
hi😊.. due to HR rising as high as 172 and falling to 43 my GP requested a 24hr holter monitor test 4 weeks ago. 2 weeks later received appt letter for tomorrow at my local hospital FVRH near Falkirk.. Scottish NHS has its problems but seems they’re definitely not as bad as other parts of the UK
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