Radiokardiography

I need to run this search, so if anyone here has gone through it before, I’d really appreciate it if you could tell me what it's actually like—if it's painful or whatever. Thanks.
P.S. I tried looking to see if there was already a thread about this, but I couldn't find anything. If one does exist, maybe the admin could just move my post? Thanks.

Has nobody else dealt with this? I placed my order on Monday and, I don't know, I'm feeling a little anxious... if anyone knows anything about what kind of search is happening here... please... enlighten me.

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steeleagle152 said:Has nobody else dealt with this yet!? I put my order in on Monday and now I'm starting to get a little anxious... if anyone actually knows what kind of search this is... please... someone enlighten me.

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Is this thing similar to a coronary angiogram or a catheterization?

I guess I don't know, but I have no clue, which is why I'm asking, I suppose... 🙂

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steeleagle152 said:I don't think so, but honestly, I have no clue. That’s literally why I’m asking... 🙂

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It’s Reddit similar, if you check Google for radiofluoroscopy at a place like Mayo Clinic, the procedure is a little uncomfortable. It’s all described there. There’s just this one tiny detail that makes it suck.

Kimberly Ward said:It’s pretty much the same thing; if you go to a place like Mayo Clinic for a radiofluoroscopy, the whole process is kind of uncomfortable. It's all laid out in the descriptions. There's just this one little detail that makes it a bit unpleasant.

I guess I read about it, but I was mostly looking for some actual first-hand experience. But obviously, nobody here has actually gone through it.

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steeleagle152 said:I read all that, but I was actually looking for someone to tell me what it's like in the real world. Apparently, nobody here has actually done it.

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Guess not.

steeleagle152 said:I honestly don't think so, but I'm really not sure, which is exactly why I'm asking... 🙂

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I've actually gone through it a few times myself, and I wouldn't say it feels anything like a coronary angiogram. They insert the needle through the artery in your neck, and I have to tell you, it can be quite painful. You also have to drink this contrast liquid they give you beforehand, which isn't my favorite part. I'm guessing this screening might be related to some kind of heart defect or something along those lines.

Olivia Gomez67 said:I've had it done a few times, and honestly, it isn't anything like a coronary angiogram. They insert the needle through the jugular, which is pretty painful, I guess. You also have to drink this contrast liquid they give you beforehand. I'm assuming the test is for some kind of heart defect or something like that.

I guess I was just worried about that painful part.....

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Olivia Gomez67 said:I’ve had it done a few times myself, and honestly, it’s nothing like a coronary angiogram. They go through the artery in your neck, and yeah, it hurts quite a bit. You also have to drink this contrast liquid they give you beforehand. I’m guessing this test is because of some kind of heart defect or something along those lines.

Is this for a heart defect? Like, is this one of those standard pre-op tests?

Kimberly Ward said:Is that related to a congenital heart defect, or does it fall under those standard pre-op tests they run before surgery?

Oh, absolutely. In my own experience, it was tied directly to a congenital heart condition I've had since birth, and it was definitely part of all those routine pre-surgical screenings they make you go through.

Kimberly Ward said:Is that related to a heart defect, or does it fall under standard pre-op testing?

I had an ultrasound done and this is what it says:
Younger female with slightly enlarged right side of the heart along with mild tricuspid regurgitation. Possible ASD or pulmonary vein confluence in the RA.
Recommend performing a nuclear medicine radioangiocardiography to evaluate for left-to-right shunt and Qp/Qs ratio.

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Olivia Gomez67 said:Yeah, in my case it was because of a congenital heart defect, so it was just part of the pre-op prep.

Is that needle part actually super painful? I mean, I don't usually have issues with needles, but I guess I'm a little nervous about this...

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steeleagle152 said:Is that part with the needle actually super painful? I don't usually have an issue with needles, but I'm feeling a little nervous about this one...

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Well, look, it would be silly of me to lie and say it isn't, because honestly, the main reason it hurts is that the veins in your neck aren't very easy to see, which makes it pretty tough to hit on the first try; I even had a situation once where they ended up poking me on both sides of my neck just because they couldn't locate the vein right away...

Olivia Gomez67 said:Honestly, I’d feel silly pretending otherwise because it really is quite difficult; the main issue is just that the veins in the neck aren't always easy to spot, making them a real challenge to hit on the first try. I actually had one instance where they ended up poking me on both sides of my neck just because they couldn't find a decent vein right away...

If you don't mind me asking, what's driving you to go through with that specific screening?

Olivia Gomez67 said:Look, I’m not gonna sit here and lie about it—it sucks. The biggest issue is that those veins in your neck are barely visible, so hitting them on the first try is a total nightmare. One time, they actually poked me on both sides of my neck because they just couldn't find a vein...

Wait, am I allowed to take something to chill out beforehand? Like, would it actually make things easier if I was more relaxed?

Olivia Gomez67 said:If you don't mind me asking, why are you even doing that search?

Well, I just typed out what was already in the medical report. Just go find a cardiologist, I guess.

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Kimberly Ward said:I was just wondering, would it be okay to take something to help calm down beforehand? Maybe it might make things a little easier to handle?

Well, I personally feel like it’s perfectly fine to combine therapy with something to help ease the anxiety, though I do believe there should be a bit of a gap between them—I can't quite recall the exact timing, if I remember correctly, but I went through something very similar a few years back.

steeleagle152 said:Well, I just wrote down exactly what was listed in the medical report. It’s asking for a cardiologist.

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Oh, okay—my bad! That’s actually what I was suspecting, too... I just had this little hope that there might be a specific diagnosis already on hand, or at least a strong suspicion of one.

So, I went in for my cardiac scan today, and honestly, it was completely painless. I didn't even feel the needle in my neck, and the staff at the clinic were actually really nice and professional—they walked me through everything so there wasn't much to worry about. I think I was mostly just stressed about getting poked in the neck, but they hit the mark on the first try and everything went smoothly.
Just figured I'd share in case anyone else is nervous about going.
P.S. I had the procedure done over at the Mayo Clinic.
Later.

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