5 weeks and still waiting for 24hr heart monitor result.

[mobyfool]

Came of bisoprolol five weeks ago after being on it for a month due to it causing my pressure coming down causing me to feel very light headed and weak a lot, had a day monitor test when i was on it, feel better now i,m off it, i,get light headed at times but not as much ,sometimes have feelings in chest area and other areas of the body .But waiting for result so the Gp decides what to do next, but it coming up to 5 weeks now, when originally i was told 2 weeks by Gp .When phoned Surgery The receptionist said it can take up to 5 weeks, driving me mad.

[Ageingfast]

waiting is one of the worst things in cardiac matters.

But generally no news is good news. I was monitored annually for six years and nothing happened fast. But then I had an annual check up on Friday, mid day, and the consultant rang me Sunday, from her private line. That was the bad news event. I needed cardiac op immediately.

So please think along lines of no news good news.

Since then, my local hospital has revolutionised its cardiac dept. I still get an annual check, two scans, but I get the results immediately, before I go home. And I get seen on time. What a wonderful improvement. Cardiologist consultant is in the building if needed, but for an all clear message I don’t need to see the cardiologist.

Best wishes

C.

[mobyfool in reply to Ageingfast]

thanks , i hope things go better with you

[cotonh]

Sorry to hear this, I think it was at least 6 weeks before my husband got his results... not sure why it takes so long for the results from this takes so long but lots of people say the same.

[mobyfool in reply to cotonh]

its the not knowing ,and different feelings in my chest. Makes me feel down.

[BeKind28-]

Hello

Having these tests done is one thing but waiting for the results is another and the one that I think is the worst out of having a test and then the waiting

There are so many delays now getting results back and when people say they will be back in two weeks , five weeks and so on regretfully in a lot of cases this does not happen maybe they should say we have a time scale to try and get them back in five weeks but it can take longer

People say no news is good news try and hang on to that thought and keep phoning in and asking , hang on in there and hopefully you get them back soon

Let us know how you get on x

[mobyfool in reply to BeKind28-]

i will do ,hopefully it will be in the coming week but i don,t hold my breath ,just need to know what the next step is ,as the Gp said once they get the results they will know what to do, thought i was dealing with it since coming off it ,but had some strange feelings in chest area again today, havent had them for a while , makes me feel lousy and down at times

[BeKind28- in reply to mobyfool]

Hello

I hope it will be this week to but things in some places are now so slow and I know that does not help because when I am waiting I get in a right state and of course you want to know what you need to do but need these results

I think when we are worried about something we do focus in on it so we start to feel the slightest thing where if we were not overthinking it we might not even notice it but if at any time you think there is anything really wrong I know you know what you would need to do

Keep phoning them and maybe you could contact Pals that can sometimes speed things up and easy to say but harder to do but try your best not to worry even though you have been waiting a long time every day is a day closer to getting those results you so need for peace of mind x

[cotonh]

Feeling frightened, uncertain, anxious and many other difficult feelings and emotions is extremely wearing and a lot of this is frustrating and irritating. A friend of mine reminds me that all things will pass which I try and hang on to. It is strange having so little control over what is going on, not understanding what is going on and having what is going on being inside the body so no way to get away from it and all the more terrifying. No wonder it is so disturbing and that sometimes feeling lousy and down is the ordinary human response to it all although painful and hard to go through.

[mits123]

Hi mobyfool.

Call your GP surgery and asked to speak to the medical secretary, she/he will be able to email the hospital on your behalf and chase the results. The receptionist can usually do it at most surgeries but for whatever reason can't or won't do it, be that because of work load or training issues.

[mobyfool in reply to mits123]

Thanks, I,ll take that on board

[JCDBARBRIDGE]

so sorry to hear about the delay, I can empathise. My take is simple, it’s your health and at the end of the day all that matters is you. The stress in not knowing is not helpful and whilst I’m sure all will be fine knowing is the best medicine. So it’s in your control and gift to chase and push hard for an update. All that matters is you , simples. I understand the challenges facing the NHS but all that matters is you. Sorry if im being harsh but I have been on a similar journey . It can feel that you are being unfair, unkind but it’s your health and that is pretty for you. Okay the call will be understandable to make but the person at the other end will be sympathetic, it will be nothing new to them. Be you be polite be assertive and I’m sure you will hear the news you need to hear, Good luck

[mobyfool in reply to JCDBARBRIDGE]

Thanks,I,ll will chase them up

[JCDBARBRIDGE in reply to mobyfool]

Good stuff, be good to know how you get on, also feel free to reach out if need be

[Nightmare2]

Hi, Not can be ascertained from the 24 hours ones, only if an event happens, and rarely does in that time, I was on mine for 2 weeks, and at the very last day, it showed an AF episode which was luck, but i knew i had it anyway.

I dont know whey you re off bisoprolol or your problems, but from experience i now have low BP, but cant blame bisoprolol as I only take half a tablet daily as i have a low H.rate of around 48 anyway, and a whole pill takes it down to 44 ish. but does not affect my bp at all.

What has affected my own BP is an EKG stress test i had in hospital they inject into artery the drug tht speeds up a heart instead of the old stread mills, and it sent me into the worst AF attack i have ever had, and since then very low BP. They say it was nothing to do with the Stress induced drug. but very funny day before i still had my normal BP, I would say to anyone before anything slightly invasive is planned for your hearts, think again, sometimes these things either dont work, or make a situation worse. My cardiologist has always said to me, he wont do anything invasive unless a matter of life or death to do with hearts, but i suppose he considered a stress EKG harmless, well it wasnt in my case, just saying.

[Garden24 in reply to Nightmare2]

Tell me about it! I had a Dobutamine stress test a couple of weeks ago. Heart rate made to go up from 48bpm to 137. Really weird feeling!

[Nightmare2 in reply to Garden24]

Yes its supposed to make it go up as if we are on treadmills, but they kept giving me doses of it as my h.rate would not increase in the end a massive dose came through and the AFib i had was really bad, i had to go home 1 and half hours on the bus then drive the rest of the way, i felt ill even the following day and I am not a whimp and used to AF. I would never have this drug given again on EKG stress test. my heard BP now is very low and wont go higher, so much so, my GP has taken me off my BP tablet as we cant afford for it to go lower. Beware anyone who they give this drug to on stress EKG.😡

[mobyfool in reply to Nightmare2]

When i was diagnosed with At Fib 2018 i had to wear the monitor for a week thats how they found out, has never really bothered me since then , even then i could feel irregular beats now and then, but in April this year was getting stressed out and angry with things going on in my life ,i noticed it more prominent over a week ,saw the Gp ,he said pressure was high , that,s why he put me on Bisoprolol 1.25, then following day had to see different Gp and she up it again to 2.5 was alright for a couple of days , then started having bad problems , they brought it back to 1.25 then halfed it after a couple of weeks because pressure was to low, and a few days later took me me off it. Been of it for a month now, but when i had the 24 hr monitor test iwas still on medication.

[Avagra]

Whilst I am grateful for the NHS saving my life after Stemi in Oct’22 the follow ups and treatment after is not acceptable.Its difficult in most parts of the country to see a specialist never mind a GP.You have to do most of the chasing to obtain results of tests etc and of all the patients that waiting is anxious and harmful it is those with cardiac issues.Overall the NHS is marvellous but lacking in cardio aftercare.

[Qualipop]

The wait here for a holter monitor is around 7 to 8 weeks unless the GP has marked it urgent. They simply don't have enough monitors or people to read them. They have always been waiting to grab mine as soon as I take it back, rapidly download the date then give it to someone else. Then there's a very long wait to get the results. Waiting is the worst!

[Muppetmum]

I would think myself lucky, if there was something major they would have been in touch immediately, I handed my spider flash back on the morning and the hospital called me the same afternoon and the following morning, now I am on the waiting list for the pacemaker

[bluemoon572]

If the heart monitor recordings are taken to your local hospital for processing & interpretation, I think your GP should visit the department and get a preliminary computer interpretation which, in my opinion, rarely differs much from the final conclusion made and signed by the cardiologist who overreads the computer interpretation. Sometimes he/she has to charm the staff to allow the GP to read the computer interpretation though.I know the system as I used to interpret outpatient cardiac monitor tracings at 2 local hospitals.