How to help your Doctor help you During Heart Disease


Doctors are not magicians and it can sometimes be difficult for them to interpret symptoms, especially if, as they often do, they include rather vague complaints such as ‘feeling peculiar’ or ‘feeling uneasy’. Even if you do have the classic symptom of chest pain it is not always easy for the doctor to identify the cause, as Dr David Newby points out; ‘Much depends on the personality of the patient: sometimes people don’t complain at all even though they have quite severe symptoms, others notice every twinge. Chest pain can have a whole range of different causes. If you get a patient complaining of it you have to try to quantify the risk. It is all to do with the level of suspicion. If the patient complains of classic symptoms it’s easy, but unfortunately people sometimes come saying I’ve had too much to eat and complain of a tiny, vague pain. While in some people the only sign of angina is very bad gum ache. The test to prove if it is heart disease is angiography but that in itself can cause problems so we don’t do it lightly.’

Of course, no doctor can predict definitively that a patient is going to have a heart attack, and no one can blame a doctor who makes an honest mistake. If you feel that your doctor has taken the trouble to listen to you and talk you through the various alternatives you are likely to feel more satisfied than if you feel the doctor has been dismissive as he sadly was in Clive’s case even if his or her diagnosis does prove ultimately to be wrong.

Doctor help Heart Disease

Of course, some people do not want to know too much about their condition and are quite happy to leave everything to the doctor. However many people with heart disease have a need for clear, understandable information. If you are not satisfied with the way your doctor deals with you and talking it over does not help, Dr David Newby suggests asking for a second opinion. It’s also advisable to look for a locum tenens stroke doctor in your area should your main doctor be unavailable for checkups or emergency treatments. On your part you can help your doctor by trying to be as specific as you can about your symptoms and by keeping an accurate note of where and when you experience them and how long they last.

Filed Under: Health & Personal Care

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About the Author: Andrew Reinert is a health care professional who loves to share different tips on health and personal care. He is a regular contributor to MegaHowTo and lives in Canada.

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