My annual cardiology appointment
- May 9
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 9
Day 1074.
Last week was my annual cardiology appointment. This time I had a repeat echo, followed by an ECG and then a chat with the cardiologist.

My echocardiogram scan was at 08:00 AM. I had pre-ordered a taxi to make sure that I had a reliable way of getting to the hospital. I find Uber so unpredictable these days - sometimes the driver shows up and sometimes they just cancel for a better fare.
I ended up being a little early and enjoyed a coffee from the Mojo at the hospital. Decaf of course.
The echo
The echo went well. They were a bit short staffed as it was school holidays. So I ended up waiting a bit.
I wore a button up shirt for easy access, but still had to change into a hospital gown for the scan.
The technician was really lovely. She chatted the whole time. She asked about my condition and how we found it.
I had soooo many PVCs during the scan.
The ECG
Once that was finished, I went back to the waiting room to wait for the ECG. That was pretty uneventful. A student was there to observe and learn.
This time I got to keep my shirt on.
My blood pressure was fine, the ECG looked reasonably good.
The cardiologist
At last I met with the cardiology registrar. It was the same guy I saw last year.
He told me that my echo showed no change from 2 years ago. My heart function is still mildly reduced. Apparently the quality was not good enough to get the ejection fraction. That's the measure of how well a heart is pumping.
We spoke about how I had been feeling. I told him I felt well, but noticed an increase in palpitations in the last 2 months.
He asked me about the nightmares and if I was still on a reduced dose of Bisoprolol. I informed him the dreams were still there, but no longer as disturbing as they were. I have also changed back to my usual dose of Bisoprolol due to an increase in chest pain.
We spoke about my low blood pressure, but he wasn't overly concerned by this. As I am not feeling poorly from it.
He was happy that I have had no real further arrhythmia since my ED visit in February last year. He mentioned that I won't need an ablation after all - when was that even an option on the table?
He was very happy that I had lost 8 kg since I last saw him.
He did order me a blood test to check my cholesterol and to see if I have developed diabetes.
Next steps
If I remain stable until next year, they will try to wean me off of Amiodarone.
I will also go for a repeat PET scan in September to check that the sarcoidosis is still under control.
All in all one of my better cardiology appointments.
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