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Should I switch cardiologists?
Greetings everyone I’m new to this website. I’m a 17 year old girl with suspected heart issues.
At the start of January of 2025 I would wake up out of my sleep with a rapid heart rate and high blood pressure for no reason at all. I started visiting a cardiologist, he did multiple tests and even a holter monitor. My monitor showed many events and very high heart rates for absolutely no reason. He discussed the results with me. He told me he was not sure yet so he ordered an echo. He did not discuss my echo results with me. Instead he told me he suspected it was an artery connecting from my heart to my lung I believe. He had another echo done and he told us nothing.
When I finally went back he looked at me and told me that nothing was wrong. I was in tears because I thought I was crazy. He decided to prescribe me metoprolol tartrate 2x a day to see if that would help.
Well fast forward a year later it worked great until my symptoms slowly started to show back up. We went back to the same cardiologist. He ordered another monitoring test. The same day I was at the office I had asked for my echo results and a woman gave them to me. I read that I have mild mitral valve regurgitation, and moderate tricuspid valve regurgitation at 308 m/s, and pulmonary hypertension.I have no idea what that means and hope it’s no big deal.
When I went back to get my monitor results read my cardiologist told me my heart rate dipped down to 44 at 6:10 am. He asked me if I was an athlete which I am not because usually athletes have a lower resting heart rate usually. Well my father asked him questions and he seemed to dodge the questions. Anything my dad would ask he would seem like he didn’t know.
When he left the room, I looked at my patient notebook that he never leave in the room. There were many things on the page that confused me. He had circled pulmonary hypertension , diastolic dysfunction, bradycardia, and tricuspid valve regurgitation. Which was very strange to me. I always would ask for a diagnosis but he never gave me one, he would just tell me he didn’t know. Which worries me that I’m taking medication for an unknown issue. Should I switch cardiologist or should I stay at the same office?
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I would certainly get a second, third, or 4th opinion. Not to change it over to me, but I was misdiagnosed for THIRTY YEARS! I was told I couldn't have all the symptoms I was having, and they sent me to therapists. I eventually found a Dr who knew just what it was. Bingo! I have been dismissed so frequently in my life. Do NOT let anyone do that to you! Do not be dismissed.
Now, I start putting my results and symptoms into AI. Copilot is great. Of course, DO NOT depend soley on it. I find that it gives me a great place to start and then I do my own research. It gives me sources. I just tell my Dr, I did some research and could it be this...that, or the other.
Get a copy of all your records. I take a photo and up load it to copilot. It explains what everything is. Then I research it to make sure it is giving me correct information because it is not always 100% correct. It helps me know where to start my research.
Make sure you use reliable known sources...like Mayo, Cleveland, American Heart Association...
I am 69 and just recently put my whole life of major ailments in and found that they are not separate; they are all interconnected. Now, it all makes sense.
I wish you well. Be an informed squeaky wheel.
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2 Reactions@jaki101 Glad to hear you are seeing a different Cardiologist. Who will depend on your insurance (do you need to stay within a certain network?).
1) In the last four years I have seen many specialists and I have learned an important lesson: Specialists have subspecialties! One cannot and should not depend on one Specialist knowing and being able to treat all conditions in their Specialty.
2) All your medical tests and your doctor's Notes are available online BY LAW. The Cardiologist's office should help you set up your "MyChart account" and then you can read everything they have about you. Maybe your parents do this since you are under 18.
3) ChatGPT and Google Gemini (to name a few AI sites) can give one a lot of information on tests and Doctor Notes. They can make mistakes, so one should talk to Doctor also but still they provide a lot of information. I put all my tests and ask for interpretation, and I also give it my Doctor's Notes to get an "interpretation"
3) Pulmonary Hypertension is a significant health issue and it can have a variety of causes so the right specialist will depend on the cause. In my case, my lung conditions are causing it, so I see a Pulmonologist specializing in interstitial lung diseases. Best wishes and remember to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
@sjm46 Or anatomic pathologists.... none of their patients complain, either.
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1 Reaction@vic83
Greetings!
I’ve looked my cardiologist does not have a my-chart available. None of my records are online. They’re available in their specific office data base. I know as a kid I was suspected to have asthma but I never had asthma symptoms nor been properly evaluated.
@jaki101 Do you live in the US? QUOTE: Federal law, primarily through the 21st Century Cures Act and HIPAA, requires healthcare providers to give patients immediate, free, and electronic access to their medical records and health information. The "Open Notes" rule mandates that doctors provide, via patient portals or apps, access to notes, lab results, and reports without unreasonable delays. Online Availability: Most modern medical facilities, clinics, and hospitals now use EMR systems that allow patients to view their health information online, often via secure, downloadable apps.
Did you ask them and what did they tell you? Make them give records to you! Test results AND DOCTOR NOTES. I would not let them get away with anything. It is their job.
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2 Reactions@jaki101 Also always check to see if your doctors are Board certified .. here is a place to do it https://www.certificationmatters.org/boards/
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1 Reaction@jaki101 so your current cardiologist does not have a portal with your records online. All the more reason to seek out a new cardiologist. This one is not being transparent or staying up to date with technology. Since your records are NOT online, start the process of having your records printed out and given to you. There may be a small charge for this, but it will be worth it. Bring them to your new cardiologist.
@vic83
I’ve asked the workers there and they don’t provide electronic records. They are an old school type of drs office. Most of their patients are seniors. Though I know having senior patients isn’t an excuse to not have patient portals.
I have diastolic dysfunction. My cardiologist is part of a University hospital and has done clinical trials and is knowledgeable about new medications. My problems have improved. Find a cardiologist at a teaching hospital. They will be at the cutting edge of treatments.
I also have done some research and diastolic dysfunction is one side of the heart and pulmonary hypertension is the other side of your heart. At least that is my understanding.
Find someone else and get yourself some proper treatment. If they have not done an echocardiogram, they do not have all the information they need to treat you.
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1 Reaction@blondeboss
They did an echocardiogram. I have tricuspid valve regurgitation at a moderate rate. So they used my numbers to calculate my rvsp and it was around 48-50. He tried to use just an echo to rule out PAH, but he didn’t bother to look into doing a RHC because I was just “too young to have it.