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Original poster

Echocardiogram - will I need to take my top off?!

68 replies

MissAtomicBomb1 · 22/03/2023 21:36

I'm due to have one at the beginning of April. Presumably I'll have to be completely topless for them to perform the procedure?
I'm slightly anxious as the letter says it could be performed by someone of the opposite sex. Things like this don't usually bother me but when I was in A&E recently I was asked to strip off for an ECG by a nurse. Wasn't offered a sheet to cover up & just a flimsy curtain around the bed which she hadn't even closed properly. I felt really exposed and self conscious with other patients wandering around a few metres away. I know the sonographers have seen it all before but I don't like the thought of having my boobs out for 20mins in front of a strange bloke...
Would it be weird to take DH with me?

OP posts:

BobaTea · 28/04/2023 12:37

@CornishGem1975 the criteria to be seen must be very strict now. I have a 24 hr ECG with thousands of ectopic heartbeats. According to them these might not be a priority to be seen. I wonder can the GP refer to another hospital?

KittenKong · 06/05/2023 20:28

I’m having one in a couple of weeks. Trust me, if it’s a man doing the procedure I’ll blow the machine up.

Bluelightbaby · 06/05/2023 20:42

Weird ED made you take your top completely off ! I perform ECGs multiple times a shift and just loosen bras and go under jumpers to give the patients dignity.

I don’t perform eco’s but you will need to be topless, likely to be a front opening robe.

I see breasts every shift and honestly I truly don’t even take note of them, nor will the sonographer

Wishona · 06/05/2023 20:46

I had one and had to take my top off, can’t remember if I wore a
a gown. I expect I must have. I find the dentist more stressful.

Greenvelvetdress · 06/05/2023 20:50

@KittenKong if this is really the case you should probably ring the hospital and let them know as it could easily be a man doing the scan and you'll have wasted everyone's time if you can't have it done

shivawn · 06/05/2023 20:50

I'm a cardiology nurse and preform ECGs all the time, I've never asked anyone to remove their bra. Normally they just pull up their top for me and I work around the bra, no issues.

shivawn · 06/05/2023 20:52

shivawn · 06/05/2023 20:50

I'm a cardiology nurse and preform ECGs all the time, I've never asked anyone to remove their bra. Normally they just pull up their top for me and I work around the bra, no issues.

Doh I'm obviously half asleep and read Echo as ECG

YouWithoutEnd · 06/05/2023 20:52

Yes, need to be totally topless/braless, but they normally give you a hospital gown to put on back to front (like a jacket) so you’ve got a bit of coverage.

YouWithoutEnd · 06/05/2023 20:54

For the nurses on this thread saying they work around bra’s, etc. For a textbook ECG (OSCE style) patients should be removing everything off the top half, including necklaces and smartwatches.

tiktokboom · 06/05/2023 20:54

I've had 2 at the GP. Took my top off but could keep my bra on both times. No gown.

YouWithoutEnd · 06/05/2023 21:01

Verylongtime · 22/03/2023 21:41

Oh, gosh, I’m due one soon. I wouldn’t want to be topless at all.

It’s not optional, unfortunately.

Its a very detailed ultrasound of your heart, all of its chambers and valves, Doppler scanning of the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood as it moves around the heart, etc. The Doppler needs to be applied to your chest wall and moved around using ultrasound jelly to get to your heart properly and get the information they need. In the same way that you need to get your belly out for a pregnancy ultrasound, or even have an internal one if it’s early in the pregnancy, it’s just what has to be done. Ultrasound can’t work through bras or other clothes, it needs contact with skin through the jelly.

YouWithoutEnd · 06/05/2023 21:02

tiktokboom · 06/05/2023 20:54

I've had 2 at the GP. Took my top off but could keep my bra on both times. No gown.

GP surgeries don’t do echo’s. You’ll have had an ECG, different procedure.

HappyHolidai · 06/05/2023 21:23

KittenKong · 06/05/2023 20:28

I’m having one in a couple of weeks. Trust me, if it’s a man doing the procedure I’ll blow the machine up.

That sounds a little excessive. You can ask for a female chaperon, if that would help.

CornishGem1975 · 07/05/2023 07:02

If you're having an echocardiogram, or an ECG for that matter, you're obviously not having it for fun, it's for medical reasons - pretty serious ones if it's your heart. I can't get upset about then showing a male or female healthcare professional an extra bit of skin.

Bluelightbaby · 07/05/2023 09:21

YouWithoutEnd · 06/05/2023 20:54

For the nurses on this thread saying they work around bra’s, etc. For a textbook ECG (OSCE style) patients should be removing everything off the top half, including necklaces and smartwatches.

I loosen the bra as you can’t place the sticker correctly around a bra

any phones or smart watches or magnetic bracelets removed, if they’re in an electric controlled chair (ie recliner) it gets turned off

I’ve never removed necklaces as they don’t interfere

piedbeauty · 07/05/2023 11:23

I went with a friend to hers. She had to take off her top and bra (underwires interfere with the ECG) and was naked from the waist up. But we were in a locked consultancy room w female nurse.

Wishona · 07/05/2023 11:31

I had an ECG when I had sepsis which I think was done around my bra.

I also had a scan when I had a breast abscess, no bra for that.

The echo was done with bare skin though, as someone else said it’s just like having a baby scan. They push in at different angles including trying to view the heart from above.

I think ask for a chaperone and explain your nerves. They might let you hold a pice of the paper towel you lie on to you chest. Ask. Or take a hand towel and they can lift the area they need to.

SummerCycling · 07/05/2023 14:34

MissAtomicBomb1 · 22/03/2023 21:36

@MissAtomicBomb1

It wouldn't be weird at all to take your husband. Mine came to one of my heart echoes once.

I really like the heart echo sonographers, they have only ever been very kind and gentle. All male, but in a way I don't even care which sex they are for that exam. It feels a lot less invasive for me than tests that involve taking knickers off. they stress me terribly (so I do truly understand your concerns).

How did it go?

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