[samhass]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

This is a slippery slope. Unless we have a medical degree it is almost impossible to decide what tests are needed and what tests are not needed.

Many medical problems are without symptoms, and when you get to the level of symptoms in cardiovascular illness, such as shortness of breath, blueness, pain, fatigue, swollen ankles,rapid heartbeat, fainting, than you have missed an opportunity to correct some serious problems earlier. Generally there is an ekg, a stress test and then a Thalium stress test and if that discovers something wrong, then a cardiac ultrasound and perhaps a 24 hour Holter monitor and then a cardiac catherization. It is apparent without extensive tests if a person is having some risk factors to further investigate, such as overweight, a sedentary life style and a history of smoking and high cholesteral levels.

It could be that these tests were a scam to make money and it could be that they ascertained that you were alright dispite the risk factor that you mentioned of smoking. This is a very difficult area. I agree with Ilovetv that generally a person is refered to a cardiologist by a primary care physician.

It is wise to check out a physicians background as you say. That in itself is difficult. Even excellent doctors have suits brought against them. There are suit happy people out there. And some not great doctors never get in trouble that is traceable. To figure out who is good, not great and bad in an MD is almost impossible. Large teaching hospitals have very high standards for their physicians and they have ethics committees too and I feel more comfortable with seeking treatment for serious issues by going to a doctor and group associated with a large teaching facility such as Shands in Gainesville or the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

A friend who is himself an MD and lives here in The Villages goes to Shands in Gainesville, for his medical care. I myself trust large teaching hospitals and the doctors associated with them the most because of our frequent experiences with our daughters extensive birth related heart problems.

I am not a medical person..and I am sorry that you, OP had this experience. I think it was very odd you had the Thalium stress test without a regular one first. If you were charged for the plain one and Medicare paid for a test that wasn't performed, that is fraud.

Well said, Gracie.