how much would it cost to get your heart checked?

[allwerp]

approx. how much would it be to get your heart cheacked for any anomalies(e.g heart irregularity,heart murmurs. etc)?

[gingernut]

Run up 10 flights of stairs, and if you can still hold a conversation, your heart is fine.

In all seriousness, it depends on what tests you actually require.

In the UK, you could probably wangle a basic clinical examination for free of your friendly GP. He may even throw in a free Blood Pressure test, (If he's not too busy completing irrelevent paperwork)

You could persuade him to refer you for a cholesterol blood test also.

Further testing would only usually be performed, if he discovered a problem, or if you complained of cardiac type symptoms.

More in depth screening, (ecg's/echocardigrams etc), would not actually be warrented, in a person who was otherwise fit and well. Having said that, as a market does
exist, a service has been developed by certain private medical companies.

From what I can remember a full screening, (which doesn't include an echocardiogram), costs £400-600 in the UK.

If it was any good, I'd have one, (and I havn't). I'd be a little bit cautious. If you gave me enough time, I'd probably be able to find something "wrong" with you, medically speaking.

Why are you asking?

[blueplume]

If you're in a country that has a free national health system then it shouldn't cost anything. In the UK your GP can refer you to a specialist who will/should then examine you thoroughly and bid you good day when he's done without charging you a penny.

If you're in a country that doesn't have such a system then you would probably have to go private which means having health insurance to pay for the doc's next Merc.

Not trying to sell Britain as the best place in the universe, just saying how I think it is.

Either way it shouldn't cost much, unless of course you have neither insurance nor health system.

[Flyin'Dutch']

The NHS is not there to provide people with potentially unneccesary health checks, or do you think we should add to the 6 months plus waiting lists for MRI scans just so that the 'worried well' can have a go at it 'just to make sure'

If you are unwell or concerned the first step should be to go and see your primary care health physician. Based on the history and examination he/she will decide what, if any further action is required.

If there is no indication for further investigation and you do want a further check up they can provide you with contact details for specialist services who in turn for your readies will do further tests.

[booke23]

As has already been mentioned you are very unlikely to get a referal from your GP to a cardiologist unless he finds something wrong, or you are presenting sympyoms.

If you really want tested, then you'll want a cholesterol check. (you can have this done in Boots chemists for £20)

An Echocardiogram will cost anywhere from £150 - £350, so shop around. An ECG will be a bit less. These tests are not intrusive and will detect most problems with the heart........however a stress ECG is probably more useful than a resting ecg (but will cost £200 minimum), as it will show up any problems with the coronary arteries.

[allwerp]

I don't know if I have any of those cardiac type symptoms.Sometimes,my heartbeat would skip a beat or 2 or it might go slow for 1 or 2 beats,is that normal?This happens like 2 or 3 times a week.What do you guys think?

[Flyin'Dutch']

I think that if you have concerns about your ticker that you should go and see your doc.

In healthy people the occasional extra beat is not uncommon and certainly not abnormal, but from this vantage point (ie behind my keyboard) I can not see whether you are that or whether there is more to it.

Hence the advice.

[Lou Scannon]

By no means a cardiologist, more a pilot who has been through the CAA mill and several other mills concerning an irregular heartbeat...here are my comments.

What you are experiencing are probably ectopic (or out of place) heartbeats. These feel as if your heart has stopped for a couple of seconds and then restarts with a jolt. Don't worry...it hasn't and it didn't!

If you sat next to a metronome that was set at your heart rate (know any pianists?)... it would seem that your pulse kept time with the device but occasionally missed a beat or had two very close together.

These irregularities are found in many people, certainly as you get older and don't mean a great deal.

What would interest the licencing medics is if your beats became irregular and lost that syc with the metronome for several seconds as that might indicate a problem with the electrics of the heart.

Without boring you with all the various technical terms for these conditions (and scarce being able to spell them anyway) the best advice would be to spend around £170 on a Holter test. This is when they wire you to a simple ECG, the recorder for which is taped to your chest. This will be for a 24 hour period and usually includes giving you one of the multi-lead proper ECG's which is included with the price.

This will result (when the tape is analysed) in a print out which will list the irregularities, their duration and their type.

The CAA will insist on one of these if your routine ECG causes them any excitement or you can ask your GP to refer you to the local private hospital so that your mind can be set at rest.

There is the possiblity that you could get the test done on the NHS, but your GP would probably tell you that most of his patients had some sort of "missed beats", that it was nothing to worry about and certainly nothing that would justify NHS money being spent.

If you want to talk further, write to me off list and I will be happy to pass on more information.

In the meantime, you should be relieved to hear that on one flight the first officer and myself sat there taking each others pulse to compare "ectopics" as we both had the condition!

[gingernut]

In the meantime, you should be relieved to hear that on one flight the first officer and myself sat there taking each others pulse to compare "ectopics" as we both had the condition!

Forgive my naivety, (as a lowly ppl who still can't land the thing properly), but who was flying the plane ?

[allwerp]

thanks for all the useful information lou scannon!:) anyway,i'm applying for the cadet pilot position in MAS(Malaysia Airlines).i only experience skipped heartbeats or fastened heartbeats very rarely in a day.do you think that the aviation medics will be able to detect it when they do the medical check up for me?

[Lou Scannon]

It would be unlikely that a random ectopic would occur for the short period that you are plugged into a normal ECG.

But if you are in any doubt-talk to a doctor.

And to Gingernut...thanks for your concern, but the elderly and infirm only get to fly airplanes with one of those magic switches that when pressed, fly the machine leaving all four hands available to play doctors!

[Astra driver]

Gingernut,
thanks for your replies on this topic, I am curious as to wether excessive amounts of caffine or alcohol could cause irregular heart beats.

[slim_slag]

I am curious as to wether excessive amounts of caffine or alcohol could cause irregular heart beats.

if you have nothing actually wrong with your heart (extremely likely) they are probably the most common causes. Known as "Saturday Night Heart" to casualty officers (ER docs) looking after young lads who come in with a skinfull of beer and a misfiring ticker. More worrying for the patient than anything else, but sometimes you need to apply the electricity to sort things out

Alcohol is actually quite toxic to the heart, probably more so than the liver. The liver generally recovers from alcohol damage, if you damage your heart with alcohol you don\'t get it back. Very toxic to the brain too of course....

PS, I mean excessive amounts of alcohol are toxic to the heart..... Not moderate amounts.

[Lou Scannon]

...and the most likely candidate to cause (or probably reveal) arrhythmias is red wine.

Works like a bad luck charm for me!