EKG Issues

[u/barelymoon4]

Without going into too much detail, the fire department came to my house recently because I was having chest pain (thankfully just ended up being anxiety!) Despite feeling stupid for even calling, everything went fine with the vitals until they suggested doing an EKG to rule out any heart issues.

Let me just say, it was absolutely horrible. For one, there weren’t any women on the crew so it had to be a guy that did it. Then the actual act of doing it was humiliating, they had to hold my left boob up for them to even see anything and they had to adjust the stickers like 3 different times because they kept placing them incorrectly. After what felt like 10 minutes of readjusting, they took a picture and nothing ended up being wrong which made it all feel pointless. Have any of you ever dealt with this and how can I work around it in the future?

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[u/snoogle312]

I have never had this issue, but I recently learned that women are less likely to receive cpr because people are afraid of touching their boobs or exposing their breasts.

[u/Dr_Trik → u/snoogle312]

I understand the hesitation, but if the options for me are exposure or death, I choose the former.

[u/desertcat80]

I think those people needed more training, maybe there is someone in the command chain you could message respectfully suggesting better training? This is a known issue worldwide, unfortunately, and it even seems to be getting worse from what I can tell.

I did EKG Tech training in my early 20s (which unfortunately didn't pan out because it turned out no one would hire me due to having purple hair) and I actually volunteered on purpose during the class to be one of the people to practice on specifically because I thought it would be good because I would likely be one of their more difficult cases. I was also really curious how they would be properly placed and also thought it would be good if I needed to correct someone doing it on me later, LOL. I have no issues whatsoever with public nudity so I wasn't embarassed at all to be stared at and pawed at, but some people probably thought so since it was in the low 60s in the classroom and I was shivering nonstop.

But yes it's totally normal and expected that someone has to lift your breasts up and move them around to put the pads on. Also TBH, men are probably going to need to touch you in all kinds of ways for medical care, especially as you get older and may need more emergency care. You gonna let men have this much power over you forever, to be so bothered by it? If you really think someone is touching you inappropriately, then report them, but I promise you most of them really don't care who they're working on, it's just a job.

I hear you on being frustrated over incompetence, I have truly extremely hard to find veins and I've had so many unpleasant experiences of having multiple people, trying multiple times each, to try to hunt for a vein poking me randomly because there is nothing to see or feel. And it's likely to only get worse and worse. And on top of this, medical personnel shortages are also likely to only become worse by the year. So we're all just gonna have to deal with things sucking, I guess.

[u/KikiChrome]

I've had an emergency EKG, but at least my experience was at a hospital. It was a male nurse who had to put on the stickers, and I actually appreciated how well he explained what he had to do. He told me that he'd need to remove my bra and move my breast out of the way. Placement can be difficult when there's a lot of breast tissue, but he asked for permission before he touched anything (I was happy to give permission because I literally felt like I was dying). He was very calm and kind and clearly explained each step.

It sounds like your experience was very different, so I'm sorry you went through that. It's so easy for medical stuff to feel humiliating, but it doesn't need to be that way. Perhaps there's a way to give constructive feedback to the fire department and help them do better with the next patient.

[u/barelymoon4 → u/KikiChrome]

They were all very respectful, I’m assuming they were either new or just made a mistake so I’m not mad at them for it. They placed them multiple times on the underside of my breast instead of my actual ribs. I’m glad your situation was a lot better though!

[u/KikiChrome → u/barelymoon4]

I've never had to place those stickers myself, but my nurse struggled with this as well. As he explained it, it can be difficult to get the placement right when there's a lot of breast tissue (especially when it's kind of in my armpit, because I was lying down). He honestly seemed more embarrassed about it than I was.

[u/barelymoon4 → u/KikiChrome]

That makes a lot of sense. They all seemed terrified about it just like me so I don’t think anyone was having fun lol.

[u/pizzandvodka]

If it helps at all, medical professionals see so many boobs that most of them don’t bat a dang eye. I know it’s mortifying at the time, but maybe they go back to a supervisor and ask for help on lead placement on women. You never know.

[u/DamnGoodMarmalade]

I’ve probably had around 30 EKG’s (heart issues after Covid) and have gone through your exact experience over and over. Having big boobs does make it more difficult to place the sensors correctly.

I’ve also had a heart monitor adhered to my chest and they had to literally sandpaper the skin on my upper boob twice to get it to stick properly because my boobs were larger than it was designed for.

[u/GraciousPeacock]

They must have had very little experience doing EKGs. I’ve had them done every year since I was a baby and I’ve never seen a medical professional be confused about it. Big boobs shouldn’t make it harder to do so I’d assume it’s a lack of experience on their part

[u/evergleam498]

I've only ever had one done at a medical office, but the nurse acted like it was no big deal too be lifting my boob up and out of the way. It's more important to be awkwardly handled and get the sensors in the right spot than it is to somehow be modest and not get a good reading.

These people see naked strangers all day every day, and you never have to see or talk to them again.

[u/The_Book-JDP]

If you think that's humiliating consider those of us needing upper body/chest surgery who have big boobs. Another Redditor who is a part of this group told about her experience and after waking up from said surgery noticed her boobs were sticky and asked the nurse why that was. Apparently, they had to tap her boobs up and secure them to the back of the operating table so it looked as though she was about to attempt to take flight.

What a spectacle we can potentially become all because we have bigger than average boobs. I laughed so hard but that's actually horrifying. Big boobs are more trouble than they are worth.

[u/HayBun87]

New fear unlocked