Slightly depressed st segment lateral

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hello. I have to have ECGs every two years for a work medical. I’ve never had a problem until the last ECG 18 months ago. The machine said:  Slightly depressed ST segment lateral probably a normal ECG

Do I need to be worried by this? (The doctor who interpreted  the graph says not, as it was hardly different from my last ECG), but I understand the implications of this reading, so do feel anxious about it

Could this have been caused by anxiety, as I’m always really anxious during a medical, & can feel my heart ‘thumping in my chest’

I’m female, 56 years of age, normal weight, never smoked, try to exercise, enjoy a social drink, have no pain at rest and on exertion and to my knowledge have no history of heart disease in my family

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Posted

    As it said probably a normal ECG.

    One thing that can effect them is having coffee prior to the examination

  • Posted

    Follow your heart. If you are feeling like something needs to be looked into further then I highly suggest you ask your doctor for an echocardiogram. My first ECG came back slightly abnormal also but I wasn't at ease with that even though she said everybody's is usually slightly abnormal I asked my doctor for an echocardiogram and thank the Lord I did because they found a lemon sized tumor in my left atrium. I had no symptoms whatsoever I just felt something was wrong. We have to be our own health advocates and ask for additional tests. My tumor was very rare and would of killed me. It was just about to block my valve and without asking for the additional test I would not be here today. Follow your heart...it will tell you what to do 💖 Better to be safe than sorry

    • Posted

      That was a lucky escape. I always say that we are our last line of defence.

      Was it a Myxomas tumor that grew on a stalk within the atrium rather than on its wall ?

      Did you have open heart surgery to remove it or could they do it by other means. 

    • Posted

      Agree with Holly, if you really feel something is not right follow it up, see your GP for ECG. 

      In my husbands case he had been very breathless, and extremely tired, he would fall asleep as soon as he sat down and stopped after work, I was waking him for dinner, and then he would fall asleep again, that's why I took him to the Dr.

      Blood pressure and heartbeat all OK, ECG we were told it was OK, but he did have a Left Branch Bundle Block, but that was nothing to worry about we were assured by GP, I was not happy with his opinion even though he had been our family Dr for years and asked for a referral to cardiologist, he refused to give us a referral to the public hospital, said you will have to got private, OK I said, even then he tried to put me off by saying that's going to be expensive if you don't have insurance, I still insisted.

      Private specialist when we arrived for short appt, we had taken a copy of ECG tracing with us, she looked at it, raised her eyebrows and said you GP said this is normal? YES, I replied, she said he needs an immiedate echocardiogram, I am going to squeeze him in now, walked out and came back in a few minutes and said this way.

      After echo was over, she sat us down and explained husband had dialated cardiomyopathy or heart failure, his ejection fraction was at 23%, way below normal, she explained that he needed an immediate angiogram, give us 24 hours I said.

      Less than those 24 hrs he collapsed at home in full on congestive heart failure, I rang an ambulance, he was taken to our local small hospital, where again after treatment the Dr said nothing wrong with him, no echo done, or even x-ray, he was discharged because as I understand it his ankles were not swollen, that's all the Dr had examined other than his monitors and chart.

      Nurses told me to get in the car and drive him to the big heart hospital across other side of the city, which I did, they admitted him, got a copy of echo from the private specialist, they seemed to know who the heart specialist female Dr, and were willing to listen when I told them he had already had an echo done just a couple of days previous.  

      He was treated for his condition, is now 7 years on and doing very well, his ejection fraction has come back to 56%, we were told that only a couple of weeks ago by specialist at heart hospital.

       

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