Seeking advice on fainting, ECG results and doctors (also I'm new... hello!)

First of all, I'm new, so I'll start off by saying hello!

I'll start by saying that I'm 19, have been living alone for a year, am in generally good health. I'm vegetarian and a healthy weight (5'9" and 135 pounds). I don't smoke and am generally healthy.

My issue is that I've had fainting problems for a few years now. I also get heart palpitations (I don't drink coffee anymore because it makes it worse). And I'm often dizzy.

Two years ago my friend's mom took me to a walk in clinic because I had fainted at her house. I had not been to a doctor for over 10 years before that.

The doctor and the clinic ordered and ECG. They gave me a copy, but I never got to see the doctor and have him explain it to me.

The results were as follows:

BORDERLINE ECG - Prelim. -MD must be review
- Sinus tachycardia
- Borderline Q waves in the lateral leads

I thought nothing of it, since I assumed if it was serious, the doctor would have called me.

A year ago, I got a family doctor (yay!). I told her about the fainting, and she ordered blood tests. Long story short, my iron and hemoglobin were very low, and after a few months of iron supplements and diet change, they started going back to normal.

Now that my anemia is under control, and I'm STILL fainting, the doctor ordered an ECG to rule out other causes. She doesn't know about the ECG I did two years earlier.

So here are my questions:

Should I bring my old ECG from two years ago to show my new doctor, even if I'm getting another one done anyway?

What do the results of my first test mean?

Could my fainting have to do with my heart, since it obviously wasn't the anemia?

Avalina

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  I agree with Alcie, do follow through with your DR and if you can provide her with your first ECG that would give her information on your baseline ECG and she can work from there forward.  I am sorry but we are not qualified to interpret ECGs. 

Many different conditions can cause fainting. These include heart problems such as irregular heart beat, seizures, panic or anxiety attacks, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), anemia (a deficiency in healthy oxygen carrying cells), and problems with how the nervous system (the body's system of nerves) regulates blood pressure. Some types of fainting seem to run in families. While fainting may indicate a particular medical condition, sometimes it may occur in an otherwise healthy individual.

My best advice, follow through with the test the Dr. suggests to rule out causes of your fainting.  I hope you continue to talk with us here in the forum and know we care.

Kindly,

Kitt

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~~Kitt~~
Moderator: Anxiety, Osteoarthritis,
GERD/Heartburn and Heart/Cardiovascular Disease.
www.healingwell.com

"only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be"

Hello!

I just want to say thanks for the replies! I haven't been online in a while.

My family doctor was glad to have the old EKG to compare the new one to. She said there were "changes" in the latest EKG. And I noticed it said something like ST wave changes or possibly T changes if the "S" was really just a scribble. There were other notes but I never got to see it up close :p

She also said she heard a murmur and that my iron is still low (but not low enough to need to start those stupid pills again! Yay!)

Then she sent me to a cardiologist, but she said it was probably nothing to worry about (I didn't ask her what "it" is, but she didn't seem too worried).

The cardiologist didn't seem worried either, but he ordered a 24-hour Holter monitor test and an echo-cardiogram.

I feel like they're giving me contradictory information: on the one hand, they tell me not to worry and it's nothing, on the other hand, they keep sending me for more tests! What's up with that?