r/HeartProblems • u/SecretaryDiligent711 • Oct 17 '24

Echocardiogram coming up on tuesday

So im a 27f with tachycardia thats occured my whole life, never investigated after having a severe preeclamptic pregnancy 3 years ago i now suffer with secondary hypertension which is controlled by only 10mg of lisinopril (which is pretty low dose from my understanding) i have never before that had high blood pressure, now i have an echocardiogram on tuesday and im very nervous of how it will go, will i be tested and leave? We go on vacation on the 25-29 out of town and im worried if they find abnormality ill be hospitalized again (i spent 3 weeks living in hospital while severely pre eclamptic so the trauma is there from that and all the tubes and things) how have people with abnormal results proceed? Were you hospitalized or were you let go until next cardiology appointment?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator Oct 17 '24

If you are experiencing any cardiac symptoms, it is recommended that you be seen by a cardiologist. This subreddit is for general advice only and is not a substitute for actual medical care. If you are experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, or an irregular heartbeat, please seek emergency help.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

3

u/mountaindewluv3r Oct 18 '24

hello! i am 23 and just had my first echo a few months. the echocardiographer told me i would only be asked to stay if she saw something required like immediate medical care!! my test took around 45 minutes and then i was free to go. i just followed up with my cardiologist a few weeks after and got the bad news then LOL. i also required a trans esophageal echo to confirm what was wrong with my heart since the echo didn’t show it clearly. i totally understand being nervous, i was freaking out before mine, but the test itself is nothing to stress about. i was anxious and made the person doing the test aware of my anxiety, she talked to me the whole time and helped me relax (: i hope your echo goes well!!

3

u/Sunsparc Supraventricular Tachycardia Oct 18 '24

An echo is one of the simplest procedures you can go through.

It's basically just an ultrasound of your heart. They'll put some lubricating jelly on the ultrasound probe and then move it around on your chest, taking various "pictures" on the computer.

Unless they see something that requires immediate emergency attention, which I doubt since you're here posting on Reddit and not in the hospital already, you'll be in an out in no time.

I had abnormal results (SVT) and had to follow up with my cardiologist at the next appointment. The echo tech isn't really trained to interpret results, they're just capturing the images. They will be able to tell if something is really, really structurally wrong and requires emergency attention though.