A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:Health question for any nurses/docs-i know its a long shot...Sorry to bother you with this but im getting so paranoid..I am 25When i was 3 years old i was diagnosed with an innocent heart murmur-its nothing to worry about and i have led a normal life.4 years ago i suffered with panic attacks and i had an ECG done and it showed that the muscle around my heart had enlarged.My doctor said she had passed this on to the Cardiolgy dept at the hospital but they didnt need to see me as they felt nothing was wrong.Unfortunalty i have come across a few stories recently where people have suffered from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopath-(a heart problem) where they collapse and die instantly and there arent any major symptoms.I did some research and it says "thickend blood muscle makes it harder for blood to leave the heart and its harder for the heart valves to work"Im panicking as that is what i have but surely they would have picked it up on the ECG 4 years ago? On my dads side of the family there are heart problems,so im scared this puts me at a higher risk.I have made an app to see my doctor but its not until 2 weeks. I just want some peace of mindThanks
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (10 July 2008): its good that your seeing a doctor because any trouble you are having with your heart needs to be seriously looked at and properly diagnosed, you shouldnt play guessing games with something as vital to keeping you alive.5 years ago i was diagnosed with supraventriculartachycardia - big word eh? its basically an irregular heartbeat and can turn nasty. In 6 months i am hoping to have an operation to correct this...but i hopeful it will be sooner. Basically what i'm trying to say alot of heart conditions can be benign and not trouble you at all but its good you are seeing a doctorIm also thinking maybe you should got for an echocardiogram which is different to an ECG. It basically is like a scan that you would have for a baby but for your heart. It allows the doctors to see all sides of your heart 3D and allows them to check that the heart is structurely correct. What you are doing is right and its better to be safe than sorry expecially if you have a family history of heart trouble. But do not lose any sleep over this, many people have heart murmurs butyou should definately get it checked out by a cardiologist. Believe it certainly but my mind at easei hope everything works out alright for you, i am sure its nothing to worry aboutx
A
male
reader, Uncle Sneaker +, writes (10 July 2008):
 I'm not a nurse. I'm not a doctor. I have a little medical training, although this isn't an area I can really claim expertise. But I know some of the basics.
As I understand it, you say that the ECG picked up a thickening of the heart muscle. The ECG results were sent to the cardiology department, and they said they didn't need to see you because the results weren't anything to worry about?
OK. So, as you say, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (which is a thickening of the heart muscle) can be very nasty. I think that's right. But is does show up on an ECG - and the cardiologists have already seen yours and given it the all clear.
So don't panic. I would have thought that if it's four years since you had the last ECG that showed a slight abnormality, then you are absolutely right to get to the doctor very soon and arrange to have another one to make sure it's not getting worse. But equally, if there was something to be concerned about, really concerned about, then the cardiologists wouldn't have dismissed it last time. Right? It's logic - not medical knowledge, or lack of it. Talk to the doctor about it. Explain your concerns. Get another ECG. But don't worry.
And as for the heart murmur they heard when you were 3 - if they called it an "innocent heart murmur" then that's exactly what it was. Nothing at all to worry about, and not relevant to this. Very, very common in children.
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A
female
reader, DrPsych +, writes (10 July 2008):
 I am not a medically qualified doctor but I have worked in the national health service as a medical researcher in the past. My advice to you would be to insist that the GP refer you to the local cardiology outpatients clinic for a check-up - it will put your mind at ease. I would not worry too much about the fatal cases you mention because these individuals may have had other clinical disorders or more serious heart abnormalities that have not been reported and don't apply to you personally. Your GP could talk to the cardiologist and arrange blood tests as a supplement to an ECG to reassure you. As someone with various medical conditions myself I have always insisted on specialist care from the local hospital as a few GP's missed my diagnoses for years.
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