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Cardiac Dr.s seem to want to keep their patients in the dark about results.

Jun 20, 2008 12:43AM - 2 comments

         Seems to me that dr.s just want to keep their patients in the dark when it comes to diagnosis and not to give them their records if it is for the patient themself. GEESH, aren't we the patients entitled to our own records without such scorn. I think some dr.s just do not like the patient knowing anything about their own healthcare, other that is, except for what the dr. WANTS TO TELL THEM. NOTHING MORE.  I have found dr.s tend to not want to have to answer anymore questions then need be. After all, is not that what they went to school for?

I had to pay $10.00 today for my own medical records, for a measly 5 printed pages, summaries of what was done and test results. When I had my Stress test, not only did I get the printed report, but the copy of my Perfusion pictures on CD, hardcopy, and not a charge at all, !! I went to my hospital where I have had numerous procedures done the last 8 years and they copied over 2 inches of tests, including EKGS, nurses notes, etc, and no charge at all.
  Another thing I noticed, is that dr. do not allways listen to everything you say. when I was describing my ( MI )symptoms to the dr. the initial visit, this is what the dr. put on the record. ""She describes a intital episode of pressure like pain in the center of the chest while in the video store.this was accompanied by lightheadness, nausea and SOB"          What I told him and is on my medical record is this:  Extreme Pressure Squeezing pain in high mid chest, nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, feeling faint. ( light headness )pain to jaw  and extreme fear,
  He left out Sweating, pain to the jaw,and the fear. He can make it sound by the pain, nausea, and SOB like lots of other symptoms. Apparently he didn't listen very well.   Also under my Alleriges, he put: SWELLING, WITH CEPHALASPORINS, RASH WITH NEOSPORIN.   I did not just have Swelling with Cephalasporns, I went into antaphylactic shock and almost died, was in ICU, Swelling can mean a lot less than Antaphylactic shock.

my overall point is just that I am frustrated with this whole Cardiovascular Specialist thing in general. I wish and I will say this again and again, that I could have one of these Angina attacks while under or at a medical exam so it could be diagnosed properly and without hesitation or wondering. I still believe that if I were a male I would have gotten better care and diagnosed far earlier than this and before now. Male dr.s at least the cardiologist I have seen seem more hesitant about seeing a female pt than a male of the same age and same symptoms.

Just hoping that when I go back to my regular dr. that I can get more help than I got this past month. The dr.s have almost made me feel like I was wasting their time, and that I was the typical " overweight, middle age, panic female who worries over every little twinge." If I was a 40 year old smoking male, overweight with chest pain, I would get more attention than I did. Actually, I think I could be a 30 something age male with no weight problems, no high blood pressure or cholesteral problems non smoker, and still get more help than the help I got with my history. There now I have Ranted, and feel better. Well not really, but it will do. anybody else feel the same way. ?

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by peggy64, Jun 20, 2008 07:53AM
I feel exactly the same way. I went to the hospital a couple of weeks ago for chest pain, sob and pain and tingling in left arm. They ran a TSH, it was showing I was in the hyper range. And that was the end of that as far as they were concerned. They sent me home, with chest pain, some ativan and some atarax. I don't want a band-aid. I want it fixed...

They had ran a echo and a CAT scan of my heart, and I never did get the results of these from the cardiologist. When I went in to see my regular MD, I told them, they called and got a copy. The results show that I have regurgitation in one of my valves. No big deal, right? I guess if its not your heart!!

I have just about given up on doctors, really. It makes you feel almost helpless, as there are things that only dr can do, like running tests, ordering meds.

OK, that is my rant as well.

by fluffypurrcat, Jun 20, 2008 10:38AM
Peggy, hi thanks for making me feel not so alone. Don;t get me wrong, I have met some wonderful dr.s and most of them are fairly decent, but since having this heart thing, Just since April this year, I have met more than my share of Specialist who didn't want to see me in the first place because I didnt fit the typical pattern of Angina or Heart Attack, ( even though I had a positive Stress Tests) and or only saw me because my primary physicain insisted. why is it, that one dr. can enterpret a test one way, and a Specialist, ( Cardiologist ) will say the other dr. didn't know how to enterpret these tests correctly. But when I ask if I should take the test again, ( Stress test ) they think it is a waste of time?

But then if you are not proactive with your health, then you may end up like Tim R. ( the newsman political power )
who recently died at age 58. Supposedly he had " heart disease" but his stress test was fine in April, and other things were under control, and he died of a sudden Coronay event. ( Heart Attack) If we ignore our symptoms, we are not doing what we Could have to prevent Cardiac Disease, Diabetes, etc, etc. But then if we actually have any of the symptoms and go to a dr. for help, a lot of them, esp, the ones you don't see on a regular basis, ( like the Specialist , Cardiology in my case ) they dont take us too seriously, because you don't fit thier " ideal pattern of a patient.'
            for instance, the new blood pressure standards indicate that everyone's blood pressure should be 115/75 or LOWER. OTHERWISE YOU ARE IN THE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE RANGE OR RISK GROUP. So I have been on meds for Blood pressure for a few years. My pressure has steadily been going up last 4 years or so, but it allways goes up when I am not feeling well or in pain. ( I have a chronic degenerative back disease ) So when at the Cardiologist office a couple of weeks ago, my blood pressure was 148/84 and the nurse said, good blood pressure?
True it was not terrible, 160+/100+ but it still is considered not ideal and treatable. It is almost like they only want to treat somone who is REALLY REALLY SICK AND HAS DEFINITE DIAGNOSED CARDIAC DISEASE , and if you are trying to get a diagnosis, they do not want to deal with you because they think it is a waste of their time. ( At least that is the impression I got )
       I have gotten more imformation about heart disease and other related conditons from members here on this site and I may add, better more useful information than from any of the drs. I have gone to. The only Dr. that has been there for me is my primary physician. She has stood by me from the very start and got these tests, and cardiology appts. She wanted to make sure I got the care and diagnosis that every pt. deserves. Mayby the fact that she is a woman dr and has gone through some of the same faulty care or uncaring herself has made the difference in how she treats all of her pts, both women and men.

Like I said before, If I could have one of these attacks in a DR.s office, I would get a diagnosis and then mayby they would think I was worthy of treatment like " their High Risk or Special pts." I am glad that I am not in the twenty to thirty age group, or they probably would have tryed to say I was  having anxiety or panic attacks. Being over 50 and having a long medical record with no hysteria or panic type medical history is the only thing I had going for me in my chart. It showed that I was not just imagining things. I hope you are getting the care you deserve. There are some good DR.S out there, I have met them before .............just not when you are really needing them for something like this. I take that back, I did have a Excellent Dr when I went into Antaphylactic Shock, and almost died. But then again, I was in the perfect place, the hospital where I went to have a hysterectomy.     Fluffypurrcat

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