Any doctors here? Scared and confused ☹

[Cerridwen83]

Hi I'm mainly posting for traffic and some reassurance...Really worried and a bit confused. Please be gentle!

I've recently had slight chest pains and bit of discomfort in the left chest side.
A few on /off palpitations too.
I mentioned it to my GP and he referred me for a chest X-ray.

Off I went for the X-ray at the hospital, and 5 minutes afterwards the person who carried out the X-ray came back and said (quote) "All good! Completely clear, nothing to worry about."

So of course I was pleased and it put my mind at rest.

The next day I got a call from my GP surgery. The receptionist said there had been an "abnormality" picked up on the X-ray and the doctor wanted to speak to me. Receptionist said it was "nothing to worry about " but the doctor would call me the next day.

So the doctor (lovely and reassuring) calls me and said that the X-ray had shown a "raised cardiothoracic ratio?"
She said it meant the heart ratio was slightly bigger? (I think)? And I would need an ECG.

My ECG is booked for next Friday but I'm so scared and nervous.
I've been googling horror stories of people who have been diagnosed with an enlarged heart....who can suddenly die or suffer heart attacks. I know I should stay off Google!

I'm just scared and confused and it's playing on my mind all the time. I'm confused as to why the person who did the X-ray came and said everything was fine?

I'm 39, overweight with type 2 diabetes. I have PCOS too. My blood pressure was checked 6 months ago and it was fine.
I'm currently losing weight and eating healthily and exercising as much as possible.

My anxiety is really bad right now and I feel really scared, is there any reassurance or advice?
Thanks in advance!

Not a doctor, sorry, and no doctor here can really advise - you're already being looked after. The person doing the x-ray probably shouldn't have said that, if that's definitely what they said as opposed to something similar but meaning that the x-ray process had gone well. Things can easily get missed in a five minute situation like that so I'd focus on the positive which is that someone with more time and possibly more specialist expertise got back to you so quickly. Beyond that, definitely lay off the googling. Stressing yourself out about it is not going to help. If you're going to google anything, google relaxation techniques and keep up with the healthy lifestyle.

The person shouldn’t have said anything after the X-ray, although at a quick glance it may look ok it’s always rechecked because it can be easy to miss something. Please, please stop googling. It’s the worst thing you can do and will only add to your anxiety. I really hope that your appointment goes well x

I was diagnosed with an enlarged heart about 20 years ago. It was apparently due to exercising significantly when I was younger. (It’s a muscle after all). I was diagnosed due to having discomfort in left chest space in the side of my ribs (not the front).
I also then was diagnosed randomly with 2 other abnormalities about 5 years ago.

I’ve had a scan as well as several ecg’s. The scan showed my heart to be strong and healthy.

I too was terrified at the fact that I’d been told I had a heart issue. I exercise a lot and felt scared to continue but was told it was fine and that in fact exercise was a good thing.

I really empathise with you. It’s natural to Google, we all would in this situation. But remember often on Google it’s the worst case scenario. (I’ve read it plenty of times and panicked!)

I still worry about my heart if I’m under the weather or anxious.

A real positive from your story is that they haven’t immediately admitted you to hospital to conduct urgent tests. They don’t seem concerned. Take that as reassurance.

I wish you all the luck for your appointment 🍀

Thank you @Stormchaser1502 I appreciate your comment! It's reassuring to read 😊
Appointment is tomorrow....eek. I'm sure I'm worrying over nothing though.

Thank you for the other responses too!