My symptoms are getting worse

I have had occassional chest tightness or a pressure like feeling for quite awhile, but since the hurricane a couple weeks ago and the extreme discomfort I felt from my heart during a period of intense heat in our home I have been feeling discomfort daily. It is constant, but there is at least a period of discomfort everyday, even when just relaxing on the sofa. My next appointment with the doctor isn't until September as his office said he doesn't consider my condition an emergency, but the increasing symptoms are worrying me. Should I call the office and pressure them for a closer appointment due to the increasing symptoms? My wife wants to schedule a second opinion appointment at one of the well rated Heart centers in Houston, but we can't schedule a second opinion appointment until they give me the first opinion. LOL I went in for my aortic stenosis check up on June 4th. Does this seem like a long time to wait for the doctor's opinion in the matter, or is it normal to take this long?

SatoriFround said:

My next appointment with the doctor isn't until September as his office said he doesn't consider my condition an emergency, but the increasing symptoms are worrying me. Should I call the office and pressure them for a closer appointment due to the increasing symptoms? My wife wants to schedule a second opinion appointment at one of the well rated Heart centers in Houston, but we can't schedule a second opinion appointment until they give me the first opinion

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Your wife is correct. You need another opinion. You have severe severe symptoms and he is blowing it off as not serious. That is troubling.

SatoriFround said:

but we can't schedule a second opinion appointment until they give me the first opinion. LOL

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Then get a first opinion form another cardiologist. Seriously, have you called his office and told them repeatedly that you are having these symptoms? This is not a dress rehearsal. If you don't step up and self advocate, you may suffer irreversible harm.

SatoriFround said:

I went in for my aortic stenosis check up on June 4th. Does this seem like a long time to wait for the doctor's opinion in the matter, or is it normal to take this long?

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In my experience this is not typical and should be totally unacceptible to you. I schedule my cardiologist appointment the same day, following my echo, so that I get my cardiologist's comments on the echo the very same day. A lot can happen and worsen in a few months. Everything you have shared about your cardiologist brings up red flags in my view. Get another opinion asap.

You have the legal right to demand your echo data. I would book an appointment with another cardiologist and have the echo sent over to their office so that when you see them for the first time that they will already have your results in hand and can refer you for a surgical consult without delay.

Not sure if your insurance allows this, but I am able to book surgical consults without a referral. And interestingly, I have found surgical consults to have very short waiting times in my area compared to cardiology wait times. Like just one week. So, if you can, book a surgical consult yourself and have your echo results sent over ahead of time. I did this at Cedar Sinai 5 years ago without a referral and the surgeon had reviewed my echo before he walked into our appointment.

Chuck C said:

, I have found surgical consults to have very short waiting times

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This is also my experience if you already have test results from another hospital. When I called Mayo Clinic for a 2nd opinion it only took about 3 weeks for the Mayo surgeon to evaluate my records and give me his opinion. They work hard to give quick 2nd opinions.

Chuck C said:

Your wife is correct. You need another opinion. You have severe severe symptoms and he is blowing it off as not serious. That is troubling.


Then get a first opinion form another cardiologist. Seriously, have you called his office and told them repeatedly that you are having these symptoms? This is not a dress rehearsal. If you don't step up and self advocate, you may suffer irreversible harm.

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I will call tomorrow.

Chuck C said:

Not sure if your insurance allows this, but I am able to book surgical consults without a referral. And interestingly, I have found surgical consults to have very short waiting times in my area compared to cardiology wait times. Like just one week. So, if you can, book a surgical consult yourself and have your echo results sent over ahead of time. I did this at Cedar Sinai 5 years ago without a referral and the surgeon had reviewed my echo before he walked into our appointment.

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Can I book a surgical consult even if no doctor has said I need surgery? I am going based on what I read in my echo results and compared to info online. My wife has been complaining to me and telling me to see another doctor for a bit now.

I was going to book at Houston Methodist, but my insurance rates the quality as yellow instead of green. My insurance seems to think Baylor's/St. Luke's is better. They say the rating is based on adverse events and outcomes, but I worry it is about money because they seem to be more expensive. *sigh*

3mm said:

This is also my experience if you already have test results from another hospital. When I called Mayo Clinic for a 2nd opinion it only took about 3 weeks for the Mayo surgeon to evaluate my records and give me his opinion. They work hard to give quick 2nd opinions.

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That is quicker than my first opinion.

If your insurance covers E.R. visits, this may be another option. Make sure that they realize that you're having heart issues when you first check in - otherwise, you may have a LONG wait. (I messed up on my first E.R. visit complaining of weakness in my lower left leg - they made me wait 12 HOURS - it was a stroke - I learned THEN that you have to let them know that it may be heart related in order to get their attention).They'll probably do an EKG and see what's going on. They may do an echo. They'll probably bring in a cardiologist if something doesn't look right.

And I'd jettison your current doctor - or let him know and he can help his staff differentiate between an emergency and something he can put off.

An E.R. can probably boil some of this down, and if you need more urgent attention, you should be at a good place to get it. As far as surgery goes (if you need it), you'll probably be discharged from E.R. (or after a stay in the hospital) and may be able to choose WHERE to get surgery if you need it.

Protimenow said:

If your insurance covers E.R. visits, this may be another option. Make sure that they realize that you're having heart issues when you first check in - otherwise, you may have a LONG wait. (I messed up on my first E.R. visit complaining of weakness in my lower left leg - they made me wait 12 HOURS - it was a stroke - I learned THEN that you have to let them know that it may be heart related in order to get their attention).They'll probably do an EKG and see what's going on. They may do an echo. They'll probably bring in a cardiologist if something doesn't look right.

And I'd jettison your current doctor - or let him know and he can help his staff differentiate between an emergency and something he can put off.

An E.R. can probably boil some of this down, and if you need more urgent attention, you should be at a good place to get it. As far as surgery goes (if you need it), you'll probably be discharged from E.R. (or after a stay in the hospital) and may be able to choose WHERE to get surgery if you need it.

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I will keep this in mind. No symptoms for two days now (besides the fatigue), so I can't really go to the hospital. If it comes back I will consider it.

SatoriFround said:

That is quicker than my first opinion.

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Mayo used my existing medical records and tests for the 2nd opinion. A Mayo cardiology nurse interviewed me and also ordered copies of my existing records, test results, etc, from the hospitals where the tests had already been performed. This allowed the Mayo surgeon to quickly evaluate my condition.

Protimenow said:

An E.R. can probably boil some of this down, and if you need more urgent attention, you should be at a good place to get it.

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Please remember an ER is just going to resolve life threatening conditions. They may just give you a referral to a cardiologist and tell you to followup with them during the next business day. So your money may be wasted in an ER.

3mm said:

Mayo used my existing medical records and tests for the 2nd opinion. A Mayo cardiology nurse interviewed me and also ordered copies of my existing records, test results, etc, from the hospitals where the tests had already been performed. This allowed the Mayo surgeon to quickly evaluate my condition.


Please remember an ER is just going to resolve life threatening conditions. They may just give you a referral to a cardiologist and tell you to followup with them during the next business day. So your money may be wasted in an ER.

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Which is why I definitely won't go right now since I have been two days symptom free.

I mentioned insurance before mentioning E.R.
The E.R.'s goal is to take care of emergency situations, stabilize the patient for release, or admit the patient for further treatment. However, they won't release a person with potential cardiac issues without, at least, a basic workup so that they're comfortable that the patient CAN be released.

But, as others have said, check your insurance.

It's great that you're asymptomatic - I hope this lasts for years. However, you may still consider changing to a doctor who will sense the urgency and who won't make you wait to see him/her - especially if you still have the symptoms you described.

Protimenow said:

It's great that you're asymptomatic - I hope this lasts for years. However, you may still consider changing to a doctor who will sense the urgency and who won't make you wait to see him/her - especially if you still have the symptoms you described.

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I am asymptomatic TODAY. LOL But yes it is good. I will enjoy today. If fatigue is the one thing I have to deal with on a daily basis I will be happy with that and just continue to take my daily naps (sometimes multiple short daily naps, LOL). I only work part time as my wife is the main breadwinner and I am in charge of the cooking, shopping and ensuring our son gets to/from school, and making sure he gets what he needs from the school. He is autistic and has difficulties with getting his work done, so the homework (or usually schoolwork at home) also falls to me. I am lucky that I am able to take these little naps during the day when I need them. And my job is at my favorite place, our city rec center. I get to work at my gym! The gym is one of my happy places. It helps calm my mind when it starts racing, I can get a bit anxiety ridden.

I do appreciate the advice and if these symptoms keep increasing I will definitely call the doctor and push him to get me in sooner. I understand I may need a second opinion. The thing is, I actually like the doctor when I see him. My wife keeps complaining at me about how it is taking so long and so long and she is the one who has researched my test results to find answers. In actuality I just want to ignore the whole thing and pretend it isn't happening. She says if they haven't been able to definitely tell if I have a bicuspid valve, why not do a TEE to get a different angle. We were both hoping the CT would have the answer, but they couldn't tell. It is probably due to my heart position from the Pectus Excavatum. I don't know....