Having suffered with various symptoms I went to the GP who sent me for an ECG which shows I have Sinus bradycardia and possible anterior infarct age undetermined but also noted Possible Limb Lead Reversal (?) My GP doesn't trust the results so sent me for a NPRO BNP blood test which came back as normal. I also had a chest x-ray which showed my lungs are clear and my heart on the upper limit of normal. I was diagnosed with a heart murmur during my first pregnancy but don't think that's unusual. I am being sent for a long function test in July as GP suspects COPD (I have never smoked) but my lungs may be compromised due to the scoliosis.
I am currently waiting for an Echocardiogram as GP is sending me for one to play safe.
I am wondering if my heart is likely to be fine as the blood test came back as normal...can I breathe a sigh of relief?
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I would not know if your heart was fine or not did you ask your Doctor what they thought or are you like so many of us that think I should have asked that question and forgot
I would look at the blood tests coming back ok as a positive and it is so hard having all these tests and waiting for the results but see it as a positive that they are checking everything and if anything is found they will get you on the right treatment
I hope others come along and reply that have been through something similar to you
Thanks for your response 😊I am taking the blood test being normal as a positive but confused as the ECG showed as Abnormal so suppose I am wondering if one is better than the other re testing. Is one better than the other...
July is a very long wait for a lung function test and if the echo test is as long off I would consider going private just to avoid potentially 6 months of not knowing and in the meantime short of breath, a couple and exhausted.
It sounds like your Doctor is more happier with the blood test results and for whatever reason did not agree with the ECG and hopefully they know what they are doing so I would try and stay positive
A lot of people now who can afford it are going to get tests done private and I agree July is a long time to wait so if you can afford to go private it could be money well worth spending
The BHF Nurses are very good I wondered if you phoned them as I am sure they will have some advice that it will help you
I will add you the number on x
Heart Helpline team on 0300 330 3311 Mon-Fri 9-5pm
Thanks for all your helpful advice, much appreciated. Thank you for the helpline number too 😁
I agree July is a long way off. It would be a struggle financially to go private but think preferable to not knowing for half a year whilst possibly having the same or worsening symptoms. It's unfair and all a bit of a mess atm in the UK isn't (NHS) 😔
My GP thinks it's a lung issue rather than heart and isn't confident with the ECG result as it mentioned possible linb reversal or similar wording.
I suppose I was hoping to read people saying the blood test is more reliable than the ECG. 😉
We sometimes have to be careful on here what we say as if we thought it and said yes it is more reliable and because we are not Doctors and it influenced the poster then that would not be good so we just have to try and stick by sharing our own experience but maybe someone will come along that has been through similar and will be able to tell you how it was for them
The NHS is a mess and the waiting time is not good at all we can only hope that changes but I know I would struggle to wait that long and even if it emptied my Bank account I think I would end up having to go private maybe enquire how much and then weigh it all up
I think talking to the BHF Nurses will help you and if you do call them let me know how you get on
Thanks. Exactly, hoping someone knows rather than personal opinion! I will wait for my appointment date and if later than February will look to go private 🙂
Like ‘Bekind’ has said we are all different so you need to know more re: tests to get a definite diagnosis then let us know as I’m sure other people will have the same diagnosis and will be able to reassure you about it. I am a bit similar to you as I have (mild) scoliosis but haven’t had operations for it and I’ve always tended to shallow breathe. Eventually after my heart diagnosis which I won’t say because it could be completely different to what is wrong with you I also have Bradycardia and osteoporosis and post menopausal (66). It took a long time to get a diagnosis as all my veins/arteries were clear and that’s what they kept testing for. Do you have low blood pressure have they said? It was the Echocardiogram that finally showed what was wrong with me but I had 3 Echos over 10 years and it was the last one that showed what was wrong as it was getting worse but the others I had previously did show ‘left bundle branch block’ but nothing was done about that for years. Any new symptoms keep a note with dates of everything so that nothing is missed when you do see someone at the hospital. It is expensive going privately if you haven’t got insurance but to help get a quicker diagnosis it is worth initially seeing someone then they can hand you back to your GP/nhs for treatment. Please let us know the outcome when you know more. Good luck and hope you get some answers soon. Joy x
Hi and thank you for your message 😊 I think k possibly due to the scoliosis I am a shallow breather too.
My post was kind of to let people know where I am and how I got here and seeing if anyone thought the blood test showing as normal could mean I could relax especially as ECG possibly incorrect so I am taking my diagnosis with a pinch of salt atm tbh.
Symptoms have been for a long time but I have ignored putting down to the knock on effect of my scoliosis or the menopause. I even wondered if it could be a return of my childhood asthma.
I hope you're doing well with your scoliosis and it doesn't impact you too much. As for the menopause....don't us women go through enough 😉
I had to wait around that time for a lung function test which was 100% clear, function that of a 20 year old although I'm 76, heart attack and 2 stents and a lifelong smoker. GP's comment was "How the h*** did you manage that?" I've now been waiting 14 months for two referrals to cardiology to check two more 64% blockages they found 6 years ago when I had the HA. GPs have been told cardio is no longer accepting "expedite requests". On a pension there's no way I can afford private.
Wow that is impressive re lung function test!I'm sorry going private isn't an option for you as that's an incredible time to have to wait for someone that has been diagnosed or been through what you have. I hope you are coping well in the meantime!?
I cope but have increased breathlessness and chest pain if I breathe in cold air. The breathlessness could be my severe spinal problems or the heart blockages- no way to tell without a scan which may or may not happen. I saw yesterday on teh news that GPs are going to be able to order some tests before you ever see a specialist.( to cut down on waiting) I hope heart scans are one of them.
My daughter told me that just this morning, she read it on the Internet. Fingers crossed it includes heart scans! Interesting you think your spinal issues may have something to do with the breathlessness. I have scoliosis and wondered if it could be somehow possibly related. Have you scoliosis too?
Yes, I have scoliosis, stenosis, degenerative disc disease,spondilo lysthesis and T12 syndrome. ( and pelvic adhesions.) In short my spine's shot. I've lost 4 to 5 inches in height according to he nurse on Friday; Gone from around 5ft 7 to 5 ft 2. With all that lot I can't stand up straight so muscles often go into spasm. The osteopath says the muscles in my back are like a rock which does affect how well I can expand my chest when I breathe yet I still have full lung function.
O bless ya. I haven't heard of all of those conditions to be honest. I was fused from T1 to T12 and also have DDD. I'm not sure with the rods that I can lose height. I have osteopenia and osteophytosis and subcondral sclerosis is noted but I haven't looked up those last two.I imagine your heart and lungs are possibly a bit squashed so working harder. Your back sounds very sore too. I hope you have found things to help!?
Goodness, you were lucky to get the fusion. Mine's not bad enough and they won't touch anything else for fear or paralysis. Lysthesis is a section of spine that's slipped out of line and something touches my spinal cord in certain positions like if I lie on my back but until it paralyses me they won't operate. I've just lived on opiates for 16 years which have now stopped working.
I had the operation in 1997, maybe they changed the priorities for the operation. I wasn't in pain before the op but two pregnancies put added strain on my spine I suppose. Pain came about ten years later and increased and due to the op I am prone to slipped disks above and below the rods. I have no idea if I am better for having had the op or not really. Cosmetically I look a bit straighter I think.
I use heat pads a lot but when Pain is awful it is the ice packs I turn to. I hope you have found something to help you!?
Yes they often say that surgery puts more stress on discs above and below. Afraid my pain consultant has nothing more to offer apart from cannabis which he doesn't dare prescribe because of my heart. I take a quick but short acting oxycodone; should last 3 hours but I get about 70% relief for around 90 minutes to 2 hours. After that until my next dose is hell and hot water bottles. I have to time everything for those 90 minutes.
You are primarily looking for advice on the tests that you have described in your post. The ECG and the Blood Test are investigating different aspects of heart function.
Firstly the ECG. Sinus Bradycardia is, for a large number of healthy people, the normal function of their heart. It simply indicates that your heart beat is regular (called "sinus rhythm") and is beating at less than 60 bpm at rest. This lower than average resting heart rate tends to be a result of genetics and may be passed on to your children (it's also common in athletes). You may have always had a low heart rate. Some doctors don't call a low heart rate Bradycardia until it is lower than 50 bpm.
Bradycardia can also be caused by medication, particularly by beta-blockers such as Bisoprolol, given for hypertension and atrial fibrillation and other conditions, but you don't mention beta-blockers and this probably isn't relevant.
So, unless the low heart rate is a new thing for you, or your heart rate is less than 50 bpm, the Bradycardia is probably not a problem for you, unless your doctor was concerned.
"Possible Limb Lead Reversal" means that two of the leads of the ECG machine may have been inadvertently swapped and connected to the wrong parts of the body. This could create an inversion of one of the ECG traces (negative instead of positive). Although this could affect a tentative observation such as "possible anterior infarct age undetermined" it would not affect the observation of Sinus Bradycardia, since this is very obvious on an ECG.
The NPRO BNP blood test is often carried out to rule out heart failure when a patient is feeling very weak and/or breathless. (Note that the rather bleak term "heart failure" just means that your heart is pumping less efficiently than it used to, it doesn't mean that it has failed in the ordinary sense of the word - ie "broken"!) In any case, the fact that your test was normal would indicate that this isn't a factor in your case and the Echocardiogram should add a further level of comfort.
Clearly I don't know how significant your current symptoms are, but it sounds as if your GP is acting pro-actively and carrying out a series of tests to determine the cause of your symptoms.
Thanks so much for in depth response. I was not surprised to see sinus bradycardia as was already aware albeit by my fitbit lol but also aware my dad is the same.
I'm not on any other meds other than HRT and brown asthma pump I have had only 4 days as GP wanted to see if it helped at all.
I think heart failure sounds very scary but was less so on a Google.....which I know I shouldn't really.
My symptoms are shortness of breath, tiredness even exhaustion at times for doing nothing, headaches, feeling out if it, dizzy or light headed but these symptoms can be various things I know. Oddly, my fitbit tells ne I have been overdoing it re workouts when I am doing very little and certainly no workouts.
I hope you're doing as well as you can be and up go date on any tests required. It seems a long wait atm.
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Could this be heart related?
Prostate and heart medication 
Heart failure and feeling scared
Tachycardia without a reason
