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Cardiology Consult Today

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  • HadIt.com Elder

I would think twice about a treadmill test. (And I'd say that if you do take such a test, make sure that there is a "kill switch that you can use if there is a problem.) If you really think you need a stress test,have a chemical stress test done in a location such as a regional heart center. If interventional treatment becomes necessary, you need to be where it's available.

I had a long-awaited cardiology consult today at the Dayton VA. I have quite a cardiac history and hadn't been to see the cardio-doc in a while. Finally got a consult after having a significant increase in chest pains and associated symptoms over the past several months...actually almost a year.

They did the EKG. The nurse asked me a few questions (had no knowledge of my cardiac history)...so I tried to fill him in...he scolded me on my nitro use and not calling 911 when I'm supposed to--my bad.

Then I saw the doc.....he was more clueless than the nurse. He also had zero knowledge of my history (so much for that fancy electronic record-keeping system)...and he really didn't seem to care. He asked nothing about what meds I was on....nothing about the type of chest pain I had.

He only said my EKG was normal and that since I was a woman it was likely my chest pain was due to stress.............OMFG! Oh yes he did. He said....and I quote "Chest pain in women is more likely associated with stress than it is in men."

What an ass!!!

I was speechless.....I was too pissed off to talk. He said if I really wanted though, he would schedule me for a treadmill test, I said yes.

I'm so pissed......I'm actually shaking and can't stop.

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  • HadIt.com Elder

You go to the VA for a treadmill stress test and you will be stressed all right. Mine was really of poor quality with a false positive. The VA said severe ischemia, but that was not true. I got a chemical stress test and everything was fine. Of course, I could have had a false positive and then a false negative. The only real way to tell is a heart cath, and I am not ready for that. The VA is not the place to go for heart troubles.

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Yeah...

I'm going to make a complaint about the comment he said about women and generalizing the complaint of chest pain. Also about the overall "exam" as it was a joke. They didn't even do a 12-lead EKG (which is standard)...they did a 6-lead.

The entire appt with the doc lasted less than 5 minutes.....

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  • HadIt.com Elder

Purple, you should wear a holter monitor for a few days.

Your primary Doc cna order it for you and Cardiology has to read it after you return it.

If you have an episode, there is a panic button it to record the moment.

J

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Probably a good idea...the last time I wore one was about 3 years ago. It was the kind where I had to use a phone line to transmit the data every couple of days to a monitoring center in Washington. One time after I did that, I received a frantic call back that I needed to get to the ER ASAP because one part of my heart wasn't pumping at all...well I was already at the VA so I went to the ER and they said since I wasn't currently having symptoms that I was fine and sent me home!!

Oddly enough (but not really) I've never been able to find a copy of that EKG or the report from in anywhere in my records and when I ask about getting a copy from the monitoring center; no one knows what I'm talking about.

That's just one scary, but true, story of the Dayton VA Cardiology department.....there are more.

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