Howdy Folks,
Well i had my first trip to a cardiologist since being diagnosed in November, and overall i feel very confident with this guy. He is also the first doctor i've seen to date who knew as much about HCM as i did. LOL. In lieu of being under professional care these past few months i've spent a lot of time self-educating
He seemed a bit hurried but that's not to say he wasn't thorough. He took the time to answer most of the questions i had prepared, even if he was halfway out the door and i had to keep asking him questions to keep him in the room. LOL. He is donating his time to me right now so i'm willing to give him a break. He seemed pretty upset that the Heart Institute where i was diagnosed hadn't started me on any treatment or meds, and he gave me over a month's supply of Toprol-XL samples to get me started. My heartrate was 114 (at rest) when he checked it and after just one day on the Toprol i have to say i already feel better. I don't feel my heart pounding in my head for the first time in forever. Heck, i may even sleep tonight
I'm scheduled for a stress test and holter next week, and he is reviewing the tape of my last echocardiogram to double-check the conclusions of the Heart Institute. This makes me very happy. Based on those we will then know where we stand as far as treatment options. I was surprised to learn that he wants me medicated for the holter though. I would have thought he would want my first monitor to be of my heart in it's normal, unmedicated, wild and wacky state and that we would then use that as a baseline for future tests. But i'm not going to second guess him, he seems to know what he is doing.
Woo hoo! So this is what it feels like to have regular medical care?
Jim
Well i had my first trip to a cardiologist since being diagnosed in November, and overall i feel very confident with this guy. He is also the first doctor i've seen to date who knew as much about HCM as i did. LOL. In lieu of being under professional care these past few months i've spent a lot of time self-educating

He seemed a bit hurried but that's not to say he wasn't thorough. He took the time to answer most of the questions i had prepared, even if he was halfway out the door and i had to keep asking him questions to keep him in the room. LOL. He is donating his time to me right now so i'm willing to give him a break. He seemed pretty upset that the Heart Institute where i was diagnosed hadn't started me on any treatment or meds, and he gave me over a month's supply of Toprol-XL samples to get me started. My heartrate was 114 (at rest) when he checked it and after just one day on the Toprol i have to say i already feel better. I don't feel my heart pounding in my head for the first time in forever. Heck, i may even sleep tonight

I'm scheduled for a stress test and holter next week, and he is reviewing the tape of my last echocardiogram to double-check the conclusions of the Heart Institute. This makes me very happy. Based on those we will then know where we stand as far as treatment options. I was surprised to learn that he wants me medicated for the holter though. I would have thought he would want my first monitor to be of my heart in it's normal, unmedicated, wild and wacky state and that we would then use that as a baseline for future tests. But i'm not going to second guess him, he seems to know what he is doing.
Woo hoo! So this is what it feels like to have regular medical care?
Jim
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