Last week my cardiologist was on vacation and I was curious about my MRI results. So, I called the imaging center and asked them to fax me a copy of the report. They can’t do that without my doctor’s OK. Hmm… I’m pretty certain I have a right to my medical records, but I’d rather get them than fight about it. So I asked if they could fax them to an alternate doctor and the answer was absolutely yes. So, I had them fax it to my aunt who is an M.D. Not much to my surprise, the records showed up on my fax within a few minutes.

I read the report and I was surprised to find that there were some abnormalities observed. I truly expected that, after all the other tests, there would be nothing of interest on the MRI. A few of the terms are downright concerning (at least from my perspective).

“Aneurysm,” “borderline systolic,” “akinesis” were all used to describe parts of my right ventricle. The report also indicated a 40% ejection fraction for the right ventricle which is marginal at best.  I should add that the “aneurysm” was qualified by a normal cardiac wall thickness (the thickness of the muscle) which indicates the aneurysm is likely an artery.  From my “google understanding” coronary artery aneurysms rarely burst because they are supported by the pericardium (the sack which surrounds the heart).  That makes me feel a lot better… really.

After discussing with my aunt we agreed that there was probably no reason for immediate concern. However I should contact the cardiologist’s office and make sure that the covering cardiologist has reviewed the results.

Their office had not reviewed the results and I had to specifically indicate that I knew something was abnormal and that they should probably review it to make sure it wasn’t an emergency issue. The covering cardiologist did review the report and indicated it could wait for my cardiologist to return.

So now I wait :-(

As of today, Tuesday August 19th, I haven’t yet heard from the cardiologist. I’ll give his office a call today to see if I can get some results.