Abnormal ECG - GP not concerned?

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Went to the doctors this morning as I've been having chest pain for 4 days. The nurse ran an ecg and gave it to me to give to the doctor. Of course I sneaked a look at it and saw this abnormal result. GP looked at it and didn't seem concerned? This is why you shouldn't look...I'm convinced I'm going to drop dead of a heart attack now! Can anyone tell me why the doctor wasn't worried and hopefully reassure me

What did the GP actually say?

First rule of ECG interpretation: The print out at the top is almost universally wrong!

The result from the machine is notoriously inaccurate and most of the time unhelpful. Can’t see the leads mentioned, so can’t comment on whether it is right or not.

I check specifically whatever it is it says, and 9/10 ignore it as irrelevant or just wrong.

Every so often I send one to cardiology that I’m concerned about, and the report they send back usually bears no resemblance to what’s printed at the top.

I’d not be too concerned if the GP isn’t worried- it will depend very much on what the ECG is being done for, and if there is any change from a previous one. (Just ask them if you’re concerned or not sure)

She said nothing terribly worrying there, she had a feel around and said she would refer me to the chest clinic but she thinks it's related to my gallstones and gave me a different stomach tablet, I've also had bloods taken so waiting for the results of those then

Thank you for the reassuring replies! I feel much better now. Hopefully the blood tests come back ok.

I agree, never rely on what it says at the top as they probably didn’t add any relevant information into the machine.
Amazing that they did the ecg within a few days of the pain starting! I hope you’re feeling better soon.

I had to have one in hospital pre-op (ironically, for gallbladder removal!). Doc told me there were some "unusual factors" but that pretty much everyone has "abnormalities" on an ECG, so they cracked on with the general anaesthetic. My medically qualified partner thought it was a boring bit of info, not even worth mentioning. That was 11 years ago, and I have never seen any kind of doctor since & it's just not been an issue.

In other words, there is probably no such thing as "normal"!

The bits of the ECG shown are normal. The interpretation at the top is often wrong, so I'd go with the GP rather than the machine.

They're fantastic at my doctors. I rang at 9am and they had in me by half 10!

One time I had an ECG at my drs surgery for a racing heart and palpitations. Like you, I had it done by a nurse and she asked me to take it up to the dr. I had a sneak peak and it said I was having a heart attack (in more medical terms than that) - I actually had a real panic - didn't make it up to the doctor. I was crying and shaking. My husband works in a GP surgery in the same building so I called him to come and see me. He was looking at me like I was deranged and just said "the machine never gets it right". I was left absolutely drained and beside myself.

I've had many many tests now on my heart and all is well. So the machine really never does get it right.

Hi,

I know this an old post but could I ask you a question about a ecg?