View Full Version : Going Private
Ive had enough and i want to go private for a full heart check up...ive only had ecgs and bloods and the treadmill done.As lots of you will know its taken over my life so where do i begin? ive contacted Bupa and they said they only have a hospital in London thats for non members thats too far for me,can anyone help me on where to start looking for someone in my area?
where abouts are you from?
Hi Sandy have you a local private hospital we have a few in surrey and they take insurance claims and anyone willing to pay or maybe ring your consultant for private appointment. Hope this helps
nomorepanic
23-08-11, 15:44
Sandy - this is going to cost an awful lot of money you do know that don't you?
I dont think theres a local private hospital where i stay...i know Nicola but i feel awful totally awful,i cant go on like this.
Sandy i think your best bet is see the GP about help for the anxiety x :)
Im back at my gp tonight,a diferentf one,my husband is coming in with me.
Glad to hear that. Hope it goes well :)
emma.
countrygirl
23-08-11, 16:37
Your GP can refer your to a cardiologist privately and then the cardiologist can do any tests privately as well but it does cost huge amounts. Because of a 4 month wait I saw cardio privately last year and it was about £200 each time I saw him and the one test he ordered cost me £300 so one test and two visits was £700 so bear this in mind if you are wanting alot of tests donw as something like a echo of your heart is about £500 alone.
Surely, going private, they're just going to repeat the tests the NHS did and charge you a fortune for the pleasure.......... and the truth is you probably still won't believe them when they say you're ok!! There really is nothing wrong with your heart as it would have been picked up by the NHS tests. Go out and do some strenous exercise..... swimming/cycling/jogging........... your heartbeat will speed up as normal but you won't have a heart attack and collapse I promise you...... you might be then convinced you're ok and save yourself £100's pounds.
Bupa do cardiac health checks in any of thier centres all over uk. You don't have to be a member. Look under their health assessments page online x
Sandy if you are desperately worried about your heart specifically I think maybe you should have a complete check up, it sounds like this is something you're going to struggle to get over unless you perhaps do this first. I know this isn't seen as the correct answer but its obvious how desperate you are and it might give you enough of a stepping stone to start tackling the anxiety issue after. Just my opinion xx
Have a good think about it before you jump into this: these are comapines that seek to make money and they will do that every way they can
Ive looked online but cant find anything near me...i was at my gps just now and i never got round to asking him about going private,i told him i was going to try hypnotherapy and he said it will help..to be honest i dont know but i will try anything and pay as much as i can afford to get better..i asked him about ecgs and he said it shows heart pain,so im thinking ive had about 8 in the past 4 weeks that have been ok so the pain isnt coming from my heart? right? do you think thats right that the ecg picks up pain in the heart?Anyway not much luck in finding a private cardio here in Dumfries...i worked at my local hosp and i thought alot of the consultants did private clinics..might post it on my facebook wall but then again i dont want folk asking why i want a private consultant as on facebook im the old "normal" me..folk havent a clue the worries i have.Geoff no way could i run ect i wouldnt be able to do it...my chest feels like im coming down with a chest infection but my chest is clear.
Sandy I do know where you are coming from but let's be honest, the only test that will tell you if you are at risk of a heart attack is a cardiac angiogram. It's an invasive procedure and not without risk. The risk of something happening to you during the procedure cannot be understated so please think very carefully before going ahead. What you do not want is to become disabled because of a test that may be very unnecessary.
I do understand why you are so anxious and I used to be similar but there comes a point when you have to realise that letting go of the concern is also a very viable option.
Best of luck with your GP tonight but I don't hold out much hope of a cardiac referral due to funding restrictions, no Gp will put you through tests that are unnecessary and potentially harmful.
nomorepanic
23-08-11, 17:53
Pain over the heart is not heart pain.
I agree with ronski about the angiogram. I have had an angioplast and it isn't very pleasant. Also they "could" casuse a heart attack doing the procedure.
The most you could ask for would be an echocardiogram but these costs hundreds of pounds to do and your GP won't waste money on unneccesary procedures as it will be coming out of his area's budgets.
The sooner you accept it isn't a heart problem and move on the better.
Having had a heart attack guess what is the best thing I can do to help myself? Yup exercise. Give it a go - even a gentle swim may help.
Get that heart working - it is a muscle and needs exercise to keep it strong.
Ronski,its a angiogram i want done..thats what will really show if ive a blockage ect..your right is has risks,i worked in the xray dept in my local hosp and thats where they did them...cant believe im in this boat.
Sandy chest pain is caused by two conditions ischaemia and infarction. On an ECG you have the isoelectric line which is the resting base line. With ischaemia you see ST depression where theline dips below the baseline and is seen easily on an ECG. With infarction you see ST elevation which is a rise above the base line and has a distinctive shape, again seen on an ECG.
The only cadaver is that sometimes with a Myocardial infarction the infarction progresses over a period of time so sometimes the first ECG does not pick it up but after a few hours the second would. You have had 8 Sandy so no doubt at all you are ok.
it will cost you a fourtune could you not ask for something to relax your muscles see if that helps. if not ask the gp they should know of any. there is spire group but not sure if there in scotland let us know how you get on x
Ronski,if it were heart related even after days is it still picked up and a ecg?
i honestley thin k this pain is muscluar and you need to see some one who speaclises in muslce pain nerve pain its oviously not comeing from your heart yet your anixous so your holding your self tense so you going to be in pain its like a vicious circle
Sandy maybe this is the wrong question to ask but one I used to ask myself and it helped. Why are you not worried about having a stroke, it has the same basis in that it is involved in cardiovascular disease. The reason being like me you had a parent with heart issues and that is the basis for your anxiety. If your dad had had a stroke instead of a heart attack you would be investigating cerebral investigations.
I have been where you have and it's not a pleasant place to be but there is only one option Sandy Acceptance.
Accept your poor old dad died of a heart attack but that does not mean you are. Genetics play a part but usually there is a pattern over many generations. One or two deaths in a family means nothing genetically. Look at lifestyles as that is also influential on health and illness. A lot of my friends died around 40 but most of them were life time heavy smokers, some were drinkers as well. I bet you are a clean living soul and that is usually the case, those with less need to worry do so and those with the most need could not give a toss. E mail me if you need any specific questions answering, I am not a doctor but I was a health care professional who was part of a cardiac arrest team in a major teaching hospital so I may be able to help with your worries.
I really also think this is musular. I to have had the heart worry issue and it can cause a lot of pain that can make you think you are having a heart attack- have you been reffered for counesslin hun?
The more you worry and think about the pain the more you will get it and the longer it will last. At worse i bet this is indgestion pain :)
sorry your having a tough time at the moment i can symthaise. really hope you pull through (you will do!) and feel better soon.
Emma x :)
nomorepanic
23-08-11, 18:11
The truth of it is Sandy that no-one knows if they will have a heart attack or not.
I didn't have any pain in my chest prior to mine. It came on suddenly. So the chances are that if I had an ECG the day before it won't have been picked up even.
You just don't know but you can't live your life thinking "what if"?
Don't you think I worry about having another heart attack? Well I can't spend my life worrying because then I am not living.
You have to look after yourself. After the even is too late but you can do something about it now to prevent a heart attack.
I am not sure what else I can say as I don't think we are getting through to you to be honest and you need to get some therapy/counselling of some sort.
Sandy angina is ischaemia and while the attack is occurring then yes it would be seen as ST depression but on cessation of the attack then everything returns to normal. Angina is not an illness it's a symptom of cardiovascular disease. It has a pattern of symptoms that a doctor would easily recognise, mainly chest pain on exertion, high emotion or after a heavy meal. It dissipates with rest. It is felt as a heaviness, constriction, severe tightness and can radiate to arms, shoulders, neck, back or jaw and teeth. It can also be felt as indigestion that is unrelieved by antacids.
Your Troponine test showed you had no heart damage from unstable angina or infarction.
An infarction always shows up on an ECG because that is permanent heart damage.
If your chest pain occurs sporadical at rest and goes on for a long time then it's not heart pain, also short duration pains of a few seconds are not heart pain either as ischaemic changes need a certain amount of time to build up usually a good 10- 15 seconds plus.
So Sandy if you are getting loads of chest pain and it does not follow a set pattern as described then it's got to be either anxiety or costochondritis, both are conditions that will not harm you.
Ronski,ive lots of tightness around the left chest/neck area,angina has been mentioned at my A&E dept and one dr wanted the treadmill test repeated but my gp said no,i dont know why.My mother has angina..but as you said my Troponine test was normal and ive had 3 done...my chest pain/tightness does not follow a pattern,yesterday morning it eased a bit and i thought yeah but it came on as the day went on and today i woke with severe tightness and its eased of now at bit.
the cardoligst i saw said that gentics is a tiny part of it now its the rest of the things that paly a big part. the tighness you have can also be caused by anixety a frozen shoulder nerve pain ect would it not be worth seeing a speaclist that knows all about nerve pain even if you then go on to have more tests on your heart it only cost 40 pounds to see a osteopath at least then muscluar probelms can be ruled out.
do you ever relax as that plays a big part in pain to x
Sandy the tightness from Angina is like a severe constriction around the the entire chest. Remember the BHF diagram of a person with a belt so small it was restricting there chest by loads.
Waking with severe tightness shows severe tension in your chest wall.
When the doctor requested the treadmill test again and referred it to your GP to sort out.
Your Gp knows you and he has made up his mind through your history and symptom pattern that it is anxiety. If you went to see him every week for the next year he would not change his mind without further concrete evidence so I believe that you asking for more tests will fall on deaf ears.
Let's work out your options as they stand
1) have an cardiac angiogram with the risks, chances of having it privately or not, very slim
2) further tests that are non invasive such as a cardiac echo. A possibility but only done privately and would it answer your concerns, partly as a good functioning Left Ventricle of normal size would infer no heart disease that matters.
3) CBT to address your concerns and put everything into perspective. This may work but you would need to trust and engage with your councillor.
4) using mindfulness, just living in the moment and trusting that the sensations and symptoms are just physical manifestations of a sensitised nervous system.
No 4 is the best option with CBT as a good back up. Forget the angina, forget the chest pain and it will sort itself out. Remember what we resist persists
Thanks for your replies Ronski,your right my gp wont send me for any more tests...i am walking with the tightness around the neck/chest area and its a horrid feeling..ive noticed that my left chest area is quite tender..i noticed this when my little boy was cuddling up to me and when he laid he head on my left chest area it was sore..i had to move him to my right side..ive had cbt and it didnt work,my fault as i didnt get into it and trust what she was saying.
My GP told me that if it feels sore its muscular
It is sore,i couldnt have his head leaning on my left side,it was tender around my breast area.
The tenderness is indicative of costochondritis and that does mimic heart pain in some respects. Try pushing on various points on your chest and see if you can replicate the pain that you describe.
CBT is challenging our belief systems and your belief systems are produced by your experiences. Your dad died of a heart attack and your mum has angina, these are undisputed facts that you cannot ignore, but with a good councillor or even better a good general practitioner that will talk you through your risks and take time to explain things then you may change how you look at life. I have had 24 sessions of CBT and like you it didn't change much in the way that I really felt as my life experiences told me otherwise. What did change me was that I knew that I could not go on the way I was, so I decided the next time I got the chest pain I would just accept it for what it was but continue with life without worrying about the heart attack. After a few weeks the chest pain went and I noticed that it was anxiety that would make me tense and then my breathing would become Hyperventilatory, it was that breathing disorder that was causing my chest pain.
Get your husband to count your respiratory rate at rest when you are not aware, if it's more than 14 breaths a minute you are chronically hyperventilating a well know cause of chest pain.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.