Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cardiologist

Heart goes "thump-thump". I want mine to keep doing that.

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:07:05 -0800

How will family history of heart problems affect my prenatal care? I know YANAD, and YANAC (Cardiologist).

I am a 30 yr old woman, happily about 7 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have my first prenatal appointment in 10 days, and have been wondering what the appointment will be like given my medical history of heart problems.

My father has a heart murmur, and his mother died in childbirth due to an undiagnosed heart murmur. High blood pressure, heart attacks all over that side of the family.

My mother, along with almost all of the women on that side of the family, has mitral valve prolapse, of varying degrees of severity. I've never been diagnosed with MVP--though I've also never been checked for MVP. I suspect I've got it.

In addition, I've got vasovagal syndrome--unexpected pain makes my blood pressure shoot up and I usually pass out.

Taken on an individual basis, I believe these things are minor. However, when they are combined in a body that is also trying to gestate a living thing with increased blood volume and load on my heart.....the thought that I could drop dead during childbirth has crossed my mind.

I know the first prenatal appointment will include a detailed medical history, and I plan on mentioning these things...I'm just wondering what I might expect? Cardiology work-up? Extra monitoring?

I'm mostly asking because I don't want to be shocked IF my OB orders extra tests, etc., due to my history.

Finding a Seattle cardiologist for a second opinion

ptm — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:07:32 -0800

Seeking either a recommendation for a cardiologist in Seattle or some pointers on how to find a good one. This is for a friend in Anchorage who finds the specialists here to be less than informed. She’s getting wishy washy treatment up here. After the doctor prescribed her a beta blocker, she was told to take it or not, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. She basically has an extra beat every once in awhile. The cardiologist up here expressed concern – concern enough to call her on a Saturday, but then when she saw her, didn’t give any further direction. So, she would like a second opinion.

We’re going through a phase up here where you wonder about the local specialists. Another friend of mine was diagnosed with kidney problems, went to Virginia Mason in Seattle and found out her liver was shutting down, but her kidneys were doing okay. She had a reaction to the medication they had her on. That was never figured out up here. It’s frustrating.

Will suing a lousy doctor do any good?

ultraultraboomerang — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:35:48 -0800

Medical malpractice suits: What actually happens to an MD when they're sued? In terms of disciplinary actions against the MD, is there a difference between being found liable in civil court versus a settlement? A couple of years ago my 6-month old sister died after heart surgery (aortic stenosis). At birth the pediatric cardiologist discovered a murmur, but wasn't alarmed as those usually clear themselves up in the first few months of life.

What became clear only after she died, pretty unexpectedly, was that the initial tests done the day she was born showed a severe defect we weren't informed of. In fact, the technician conducting the EKG circled things and made notes, which the cardiologist ignored completely. She saw the same cardiologist at 3 months but again there was no concern. At 6 months she said the baby might need surgery soon. This is when my stepmom took her to a private children's hospital, where they said "this baby needs surgery IMMEDIATELY." She survived the surgery but coded overnight. The surgeons appear to have done everything right, as far as we can tell.

Needless to say, this has been a complete nightmare. I'm trying to help my stepmom with some decisions about how to proceed legally. She places a lot of stock in my opinion, for whatever reason, so I don't want to steer her in the wrong direction.

A medical review board found the cardiologist's care to be "substandard." Now the question is whether to proceed in court. We're not talking about a crooked car mechanic here. I figure when we're talking about this level of trust - putting an infant's life in an expert's hands - we have to do what we can to get it on record that this cardiologist ignored what a technician clearly saw, and while we'll never know if it would have saved her life, the point is we deserved that information.

Is there a benefit to taking this to court? Will just being sued affect anything like the doctor's malpractice insurance, license, etc? What about a liable verdict versus a settlement? Is it better to actually go to court, in terms of what the consequences are for the doctor? I'd really like to spare my stepmom the witness stand and cross examination about why she didn't take the baby to more cardiologists (there are 2 pediatric cardiologists within 50 miles, incidentally).

What, in short, is the deal with these kinds of things?

Sorry for all the context, I don't know enough to know what's important. Thanks for any help.