cardio problems
 

I did my Class 1 medical approx. 1 month ago. 3 weeks later I was informed that additional cardiologic testing had te be done. . .So last week I went to see the cardiologist who examined me thoroughly. After the session she told me they had to do an additional echocardiography next week to make sure everything is allright because I had "a somewhat strange Q-Wave" on the ECG.. .. .Now I'm really worrying about this. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> Has anyone ever been in a similar situation or is there a cardiologist on board to explain me what this is all about??. .. .Thanks a lot

Don't worry yourself to death. Some years ago my examiner at LHR said "I'm a bit worried about your ECG", which nearly killed me outright. He said Gatwick would probably be in touch, etc. They never did. Next year a different quack said it was A-OK. Next year the previous bloke said "I'm a bit worried about your ECG"... I'm still here and have never had any follow ups to ECGs yet.

Q waves can sometimes be an indicator of past injury to the heart muscle. Thus the presence of this sign on your ECG has led your doctor to initiate further investigations to see if such injury has in fact occurred - I'm sure he will have asked if you ever experience chest pain, if there is a history of heart disease in your family etc.. .. .It is important to realise that the presence of Q waves is not diagnostic. For instance, only 50% of people who have had a heart attack will show Q waves on an ECG (ie sensitivity = 50%). Also, the specificity of Q waves in diagnosing MI is poor: 90% of people show Q waves when an heart attack has not actually occurred .. .. .The predictive value of Q waves in diagnosing prior heart attacks is thought to be in the order of 1 or 2%, maybe a little higher in older males. . .. .Ref: American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Assessment of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Cardiovascular Procedures (1992).. .. .I think the presence of some Q wave abnormalities in the absence of other past or present clinical features should not concern you in the light of the above. The docs will just want rule out the possibilities.. .. .Sorry if all that was a bit clinical! All the best.. . . . <small>[ 30 March 2002, 03:15: Message edited by: chickenhawk66 ]</small>

tnx
 

Thanks for the replies guys