i m supposed to get echocardiograms every 2 years b/c of a heart condition that runs in my family (IHSS). It s been 3 years since my last one (those results were normal) and I made an appt. for one in 2 weeks. I ve been having some chest pains and I m generally worried about my heart and don t want to wait 2 weeks for the test. Can I go to an emergency room or urgent care to have one done right away?
Hi, Welcome, this is Chat Doctor. IHSS do follow a hereditary pattern and we advise such patients to be in regular follow up & do some tests. If your earlier tests have been fine, than it does not rule out possibility of having a heart issue in the future. If you are having chest pain, I'll recommend you to go to the Emergency & at least do an ECG to see if anything is wrong. For your knowledge, cardiac pain is non localized (i.e. it is diffused) & increase on exertion (with exercise like walking, running or stress) & it is generally not relieved by traditional painkillers. So yes, get yourself evaluated soon.In the future, despite having a simple echocardiogram, Ill advice you for a stress echo, which helps better in predicting chances of future cardiac events. ThanksTake care