...that can interpret this highly detailed letter from the cardiologist as it'll take me days or weeks to see/speak to my actual doctor!!... 🤣🤣
"This patient had an echocardiogram given his hypertension and this showed concentric
remodelling. Please ensure good blood pressure control. There is no signal valve abnormalities
and normal LV function which is reassuring."
...I am sitting down if it's bad news! 🙂
This is what copilot says: (usual warnings etc.)
The cardiologist’s note shared in the forum post says:
“This patient had an echocardiogram given his hypertension and this showed concentric remodelling. Please ensure good blood pressure control. There is no signal valve abnormalities and normal LV function which is reassuring.”
Here’s a breakdown in plain English:
-
Echocardiogram due to hypertension: The patient has high blood pressure, so they were given an ultrasound of the heart to check for any effects.
-
Concentric remodelling: This means the walls of the heart’s left ventricle (main pumping chamber) have thickened evenly. It’s a common response to long-term high blood pressure, but it can be an early sign of strain.
-
Good blood pressure control: The doctor is emphasizing the importance of keeping blood pressure well-managed to prevent further heart changes.
-
No valve abnormalities: The heart valves are working normally—no leaks or narrowing.
-
Normal LV function: The left ventricle is pumping well, which is a reassuring sign.
So overall, the heart is functioning normally, but the thickening suggests the blood pressure needs to be better controlled to avoid future issues. It’s not bad news, but it’s a nudge to stay on top of treatment.
That copilot breakdown is pretty spot on.
You've had a heart scan arranged because you have high blood pressure. The heart scan shows signs in the heart that it has been working against high blood pressure, however it is still functioning well and doesn't have any leaky or narrowed valves.
The best way to reduce the amount of work that the heart is doing, is to lower your blood pressure.
See, i read it as: "there's leaves on the line, your train will be late".
Theres a lot to be said for the communication of information to patients within the NHS.
Theres a lot to be said for the communication of information to patients within the NHS.
Yes but no. If they have a less technical wording that automatically opens up to interpretation and miss communication.
Our GP is very good. If they send you for a test, they say if it comes back normal we won’t ring, if it’s abnormal we will be in touch
Theres a lot to be said for the communication of information to patients within the NHS.
To be fair this is a letter from the cardiologist to my GP. You just get copied into correspondence now that you would never have seen before.
So it will be clear to the GP, maybe not to the patient. Wether this is a good thing or not I don't know. 🤷♂️
I've just been told to get on Statins. CVD spotted on scan for something else. Resisting at the moment. Not overweight, don't drink, don't smoke and even ride a bike. Cholesterol at 5.
Tweaking the diet to try and get it down somewhat.
Anyone recommend a home Cholesterol test kit ?
Our GP is very good. If they send you for a test, they say if it comes back normal we won’t ring, if it’s abnormal we will be in touch
My GP does the same. It does nothing to reassure the patient:
1. If you hear nothing does that mean the results were good and you have nothing to worry about, or does it mean they got lost or perhaps are buried on the overworked doctors desk? Or that they have been trying to call an old number that’s on some ancient record…
2. if you get the phone call to say come in - the person who calls you knows nothing but it must be bad news because the Dr wants to see you. Presumably its not life and death because the appointment is in three weeks time but since the person calling you just says the doc would like you to come back in you are hoping the system would act quicker if needed! My wife has had that when she went in after three weeks they asked if the tablets were working - apparently they had produced a prescription but not told her!
if any of the rest of the system seemed to be efficient you might rely on it but in no other world would “if you hear nothing it’s fine” be consider a robust approach for something mission critical.
This is an example of where I think AI can actually be useful, where it can look at a rather technical explanation of something and précis it in such a way that it’s clear and understandable to a layman.
if any of the rest of the system seemed to be efficient you might rely on it but in no other world would “if you hear nothing it’s fine” be consider a robust approach for something mission critical.
Well, during the Falklands War, my step-brother’s ship was bombed and sunk, so I phoned the MoD and spoke to a very nice person who, by virtue of the situation was limited in what they could say, because I wasn’t close family, but did say that, if we hadn’t heard anything by now, we could be assured that nothing bad had happened.
I've just been told to get on Statins. CVD spotted on scan for something else. Resisting at the moment. Not overweight, don't drink, don't smoke and even ride a bike. Cholesterol at 5.
Tweaking the diet to try and get it down somewhat.
Anyone recommend a home Cholesterol test kit ?
And yet despite your healthy lifestyle you seem to have developed CVD. On that basis - thinking logically - tweaking things won't make much difference to its progression.
Statins are strongly recommended in this case - whilst there is a reasonable debate to be had over when to start them in patients who don't have CVD already ("primary prevention"), the use case in patients who do have CVD ("secondary prevention") is much more clearly defined. Essentially you want to follow a healthy lifestyle (a Mediterranean or plant-based diet, regular physical activity, exercise as per the guidelines, smoking cessation, weight loss if needed) and take medication to reduce your LDL (and Non-HDL) cholesterol and ensure your blood pressure is satisfactory (taking meds if needed). Lifestyle changes and cholesterol medication can also reverse the CVD changes (as opposed to just stopping them from progressing). Waiting and seeing doesn't make any sense either as in many people the first actual symptom of CVD will be that they drop dead of a heart attack. Essentially the lower the LDL the better (the actual targets are driven by finances and risk/benefit analyses, but for an individual we can say the lower the better) and the ideal is to use any/all methods we have available to get it lower.
But to answer your question - in clinical practice I don't see reliable correlation between fingerprick and lab cholesterol results so I don't rely on fingerprick at all for treatment decisions.
Our GP is very good. If they send you for a test, they say if it comes back normal we won’t ring, if it’s abnormal we will be in touch
My GP does the same. It does nothing to reassure the patient:
1. If you hear nothing does that mean the results were good and you have nothing to worry about, or does it mean they got lost or perhaps are buried on the overworked doctors desk? Or that they have been trying to call an old number that’s on some ancient record…
2. if you get the phone call to say come in - the person who calls you knows nothing but it must be bad news because the Dr wants to see you. Presumably its not life and death because the appointment is in three weeks time but since the person calling you just says the doc would like you to come back in you are hoping the system would act quicker if needed! My wife has had that when she went in after three weeks they asked if the tablets were working - apparently they had produced a prescription but not told her!
if any of the rest of the system seemed to be efficient you might rely on it but in no other world would “if you hear nothing it’s fine” be consider a robust approach for something mission critical.
I don't like this either as I think it carries a known/significant risk of failure. It is a good use case for having accesss to the NHS app - AFAIK most practices will allow you to see when your results are filed, and the doctor's comments on filing (normal, satisfactory, abnormal etc) so you can double check what is happening. The way they are filed can cause confusion, but that is a separate (very challenging) issue....
CVD spotted on scan
Statins do more than reverse cholesterol, they stabilise the plaque in your arteries meaning less chance of rupture, and can actually regress CVD
I had a very bad lifestyle up until I was about 43. Pretty much every risk factor (diet, smoking, drugs) was in play. I ended up with a 30% stenosis of my artery.
Went on statins, got my cholesterol down, gave up smoking and in 3 years the plaque was no longer visible on a scan
It shoukd be pointed out that by middle age around 40% of folks have visible plaque in their arteries. Most folks don't know it's there however, as they aren't scanned for it.
I havent noticed any side effects of my low dose statin.
Theres a lot to be said for the communication of information to patients within the NHS.
To be fair this is a letter from the cardiologist to my GP. You just get copied into correspondence now that you would never have seen before.
So it will be clear to the GP, maybe not to the patient. Wether this is a good thing or not I don't know. 🤷♂️
My GP doesn't approve because it just creates a flurry of queries caused by technical terms and a lack of understanding of context. The problem ^^ is that if the GP doesn't communicate at all in the short-term, then the letters cause them more work in the longer-term
Mine was a series of test results that included something (I can't remember what) that should be considered for further testing. I didn't hear anything about further tests so contacted my GP who said that some of the other test results negated the suggested test, but if you don't explain that...
I've just been told to get on Statins. CVD spotted on scan for something else. Resisting at the moment. Not overweight, don't drink, don't smoke and even ride a bike. Cholesterol at 5.
Tweaking the diet to try and get it down somewhat.
Anyone recommend a home Cholesterol test kit ?
I'd seriously consider them. I presented with some chest discomfort on exertion and the nurse did a lifestyle questionnaire. Normal weight, active, never smoked or drank etc. & also vegan so low saturated fat intake. I was given a less than 5% chance of issues. I had 3 heart attacks shortly afterwards, the first of which was a biggy that killed off a chunk of heart muscle. You'll be on a shed load more medication if that happens.
It seems that unfortunate genetics are a big player here and if they've already spotted some CVD you've got a chance to get ahead of it.
My high blood pressure was spotted by accident 20 odd years ago. We had a family meal and my dad was testing his so we thought it would be a good game to see who had the lowest.
Convinced I'd win as I was dead fit and cycling 200+ miles a week at that point it came as a shock to see I was in the 'get to a doctor straight away' range (175/120!). I didn't feel unwell at all.
I've been on meds ever since and they've never really found out a cause - test after test comes back normal or within range. Resistant Hypertension is the latest thing, but being put on a beta-blocker a few months ago has really whacked it down to 130/80. (+ the other 3 meds I'm on).
Sometimes it seems there isn't a physical reason, it's just the way it is.
That copilot breakdown is pretty spot on
doesn't even mention the clear implication that CAIDS is the underlying cause
My PhD in flowers suggests your ****ed, good luck!
Blimey, a GP who has never heard of Cat's Aids.
I don’t have many feline patients.
He probably only deals with the bad sort!
I think NICE guidance says only Good AIDs gets treatment, right?
DrP
(what show was that from? Brasseye?)
My high blood pressure was spotted by accident 20 odd years ago. We had a family meal and my dad was testing his so we thought it would be a good game to see who had the lowest.
Convinced I'd win as I was dead fit and cycling 200+ miles a week at that point it came as a shock to see I was in the 'get to a doctor straight away' range (175/120!). I didn't feel unwell at all.
My high blood pressure (although not that high!) was kind of vaguely known about and then it properly reared its head when I was in for minor surgery. The hospital, during pre-op tests, took my blood pressure and immediately said "if it's this high next week, we won't be able to operate" and sent the results to the GP. The GP said "nothing to worry about, it's high but not high enough to prescribe anything" and it got bounced around like this for a while until the hospital got bored and just gave me a load of diazepam before finally doing the operation.
Fast forward 3 years and now the GP is actually concerned, I'm on 2 lots of medication, various GP follow-ups, home testing...
Again, no risk factors - never smoked, lots of exercise, healthy diet... Sometimes it is what it is. To be fair the medication has worked and the GP has been very good.
The tendency to not contact you if it's all fine is annoying though - too much risk of failure in that one.
Theres a lot to be said for the communication of information to patients within the NHS.
Six of the other on a roundabout. The average reading age in the UK is about 11 or something close to that. It's why lots of NHS literature talks about 'your tummy' and 'poo' in an annoyingly infantile way. On the other hand, some folks want detail and then eye you suspiciously when you start with the medical terms* for things...It's almost impossible to get the balance right.
* I've recently dealt with a complainant who accused their GP of using medical terms as a 'deliberate' tactic to scare them
I've noticed recently two discharge letters are sent out. One for the GP and one explaining things in plain English for the patient.