Ecg and what it can show.

[sandy40]

Hi im 41,but my father had his first heart attack in his 40's and a fatal one at 51 my mother also has angina.

[anx mum]

u ok hun?

[haynsey]

Hi Sandy
Yes my husband is okay now....i think it is anxiety for you at the moment, personally i think you are so worried about dying from an heart attack that you are in a vicious cycle....there is a blood test that they give you in hosp when you are having a ecg, but that is given when they find a problem with the reading of the ecg..so i based and this is the experience with Rob, if your ecg is normal then they will not investigate any further.
I think it is anxiety
I also have the genes for having an heart attack early, so i try to look after my heart!!!

[sandy40]

They did bloods dont know all they done done one was to see if there was damage to the heart,it came back ok but that was over 2 weeks ago now,im still have tightness and feel like my throat/neck is closing in,cant go back to A&E again but im scared.

[RLR]

Hi Sandy,

In response to your concerns, please take a few moments and explain in detail what induced the original ECG test. In other words, I'd like you to tell me in your own words what you were experiencing that led you to seek evaluation by your doctor or the A&E.

It's very important for you to understand and recognize the common pattern being expressed here. Countless patients who are aware of their family history begin some unavoidable countdown to their own demise based upon circumstances associated with the medical history of family members. Family history exists purely as a risk factor among many and does not reveal any type of foreboding consequence with respect to the prospect of heart disease. The second critical point here is that there are countless variations and incidental findings on the ECG which are entirely benign and do not support the presence of any type of underlying pathology at all. Additionally, I'm not certain at this point what the ECG in question actually revealed in your instance, but if it relates to the computer's diagnostic considerations as a result of pre-programmed data then I'm here to tell you that such information plays no actual role in the actual determination or assessment by your physician or specialist. The computer has no diagnostic ability whatsoever. It merely associates patterns in the ECG to pre-programmed data stored in memory, but has no rationale whatsoever in determining whether an actual relationship exists.

I also want to express to you that it's not what we see on the ECG that is so highly critical in making the determination about whether a problem exists, but rather what is not present. Do you understand? When we evaluate any patient using an ECG, we are looking for the presence of characteristics that are universally present in all patients who are suffering a cardiac event or where pathology is present that creates imminent need for intervention to preclude such an event. If those characteristics are not present, then a problem in that regard does not exist. It doesn't mean that the test has somehow overlooked the problem. The difficulty is that you have established a pure reliance upon irrational fears and a gut feeling that something terrible is wrong with your heart. You have to at least pause and ask whether these feelings are accurate and whether it is more realistic that all of your tests and physician evaluations are faulty.

So let's see if we can get to the source of your concerns by having you explain the original problem which led you to seek medical evaluation in this regard and what specifics of the test results have you so worried. It's also critical for you to realize that simply because the medical community suggests anxiety to be contributory, doesn't mean that they are not taking you seriously. Anxiety can indeed produce physical symptoms in a very broad range and context and its effects cause more than 25% of all patients experiencing its effects to seek evaluation by their doctor or emergency department with the belief that something physical is wrong with them. In other words, the presence of physical symptoms does not share a direct association to the presence of physical disease. This is a presumption by many people and although a very natural conclusion, is inaccurate.

I'll look forward to your response.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[RLR]

Okay, I've made the effort to check in on the site to determine if a dialogue has been posted. I'll be glad to try and assist you, but participation will be required in order to do so. If you wish to contact me by private message instead, feel free to do so.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[nomorepanic]

I will PM Sandy and let her know about this reply RLR