Momling Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 My 13 yr old daughter has a heart murmur. I guess she's had it for a few years and I'm pretty sure it's benign, but apparently it's more pronounced than it's been in the past and her pediatrician wants to check it out. She's ordered an echocardiogram. My daughter isn't worried about a potential heart issue, she's worried that some tech will see her breasts. It's not the sort of thing that bothers me particularly, but apparently it is her big worry. Does anyone have any reassurances? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I just had one. I was pretty much covered all of the time. It was much less stressful than I thought it would be. Expensive also, FYI:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 My daughter just had one. It wasn't as revealing as the ultrasound of her heart she also had done, but there is a chance the tech will see at least part of her breasts. They do their best to keep you modest, but the electrodes have to go in specific places. She'll probably have to wear one of those paper shirts that is open in the front during it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I started having them yearly at eleven. I remember that anxiety! She'll be mostly covered. Not to worry. And you can ask for a female tech, of course. Try not to stress. Plan something fun for afterward, ok? FWIW, my murmur was the cause, too, initially. Turns out I developed a mitral valve prolapse at that age. It's never been a problem, but I do get it checked periodically. Fingers crossed that your daughter's results are not concerning, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Yes, I've had a few. The tech was very good at positioning the electrodes and the gown for maximum modesty coverage. They see some skin but not the whole breast. And if I remember correctly, they put the electrodes under or between the breasts, not actually on them. A younger girl will most likely have less trouble with breasts getting in the way than I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 My daughter just had one. It wasn't as revealing as the ultrasound of her heart she also had done, but there is a chance the tech will see at least part of her breasts. They do their best to keep you modest, but the electrodes have to go in specific places. She'll probably have to wear one of those paper shirts that is open in the front during it. An echocardiogram IS an ultrasound of the heart. You are thinking of an EKG. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 An echocardiogram IS an ultrasound of the heart. You are thinking of an EKG. I was getting them mixed up in my head, too. The cardiac echo is similar to the ultrasound that moms have, except it will be higher up on the chest. As the gel is put on, yes, the breasts will be exposed. (And hopefully they warm the gel.) The doctor/nurse will use the wand, sometimes with a sheet draped over to keep the patient from being exposed more than necessary. The procedure is usually pretty painless. Sometimes they have to use quite a bit of pressure on the rib cage/breast bone to get the right view of the heart. I'm guessing about 10-30 minutes for the actual procedure If she is going to a pediatric cardiologist, often (at least in my experience) the doctor himself/herself will perform the echo. This is awesome, because they give you immediate results. Our doctors even let me ask questions and explain the deformities and what a normal heart looks like. We've done a bunch of these (though thankfully none in the past year or so). Let me know if you or your daughter have any questions. Dd7 :001_wub: her cardiologist. At least once a month or so she will say, "I can't wait until I'm ten. That's when I get to go to the heart doctor again!" Hope everything goes well for your dd and that everything's ok! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMV Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 My daughter just had one. It wasn't as revealing as the ultrasound of her heart she also had done, but there is a chance the tech will see at least part of her breasts. They do their best to keep you modest, but the electrodes have to go in specific places. She'll probably have to wear one of those paper shirts that is open in the front during it. An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. What you are describing sounds more like an electrocardiogram [aka EKG]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I've had a couple echos. I had them as an adult (and post-childbirth, so I was long past the stage of being too concerned about modesty ;)). But I don't remember anything too revealing. As well as I recall in both instances the tech was very good about keeping things covered up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 If it's an u/s, that is much more revealing mainly because the wand has to be moved and things pushed around. Size of breasts probably make a big difference. My daughter is very large in the chest. I get confused between them because my sister had a doctor who *insisted* that an echo was the type with electrodes (she never had an u/s of her heart, it was always electrodes and rhythm printout) and should be called an ECG, not an EKG, and then in nursing school we learned them the right way but they still get completely confused in my head (note: her doctor was not a cardiologist... in fact I don't think her doctor ever sent her to a cardiologist, just diagnosed her with her abnormal heart rhythm and medicated her come to think of it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 If it's an u/s, that is much more revealing mainly because the wand has to be moved and things pushed around. Size of breasts probably make a big difference. My daughter is very large in the chest. I get confused between them because my sister had a doctor who *insisted* that an echo was the type with electrodes (she never had an u/s of her heart, it was always electrodes and rhythm printout) and should be called an ECG, not an EKG, and then in nursing school we learned them the right way but they still get completely confused in my head (note: her doctor was not a cardiologist... in fact I don't think her doctor ever sent her to a cardiologist, just diagnosed her with her abnormal heart rhythm and medicated her come to think of it). Just had one. Yes. The larger the breasts, the more they will be moved around in order for the tech to take a good pic. But since your heard is under your left breast, the U/S probe will be right against her breast whatever the size. If your dd has intense modesty issues, I would honor them. You can call ahead and find out if there is a female tech working the day she is scheduled, and if not, just change the appt. Though they do try to keep you covered, the nature of the procedure involves some breast exposure. There is no reason that you cannot be in there with her. There is no radiation or anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Thank you all! The appointment is scheduled for next week and I confirmed that it will be a female tech. She's generally pretty modest (not for cultural or religious reasons -- just a personal preference), but I think she'll do fine. She likes to do these sorts of things on her own, but may change her mind as I'm kind of curious. Anyway, she has a good attitude and is already joking about it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I've had several echocardiograms and they have always been modestly done. My oldest got one at seventeen by a man, and it was a little embarrassing for her to say the least. I should have requested a woman tech. My second dd just had one done at a children's hospital, and after seeing how they handle it, I would always recommend getting it done at a place like that. They were extremely careful in not only doing the procedure with a concern for modesty, but they let her know ahead of time how they were going to do it so that everything would be covered up. And my daughter went back three times for tests (ekg, echo, stress test, another ekg) and everyone she dealt with at the children's hospital followed the same procedure (firmly holding gowns completely closed, etc.) and it was incredibly reassuring for dd. My third dd just had an ekg and I went to a satellite of the same children's hospital and they did the same thing there. I almost think they train them how to examine teen girls without causing stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 In the 4 I've been party to (only one was on me), they've had the lights dimmed. So there's less sense that you're out in the open and completely exposed. the techs were very good about keeping things covered. The ones that weren't on me were on my teen daughters. The last one my daughter had done was by a guy. He was really very professional and I didn't hear any complaints later about embarrassment. I have been told (by my daughters) that it's ok for the tech to be in the room but not ME. But they still wanted me there for comfort. So I sat behind a curtain where I couldn't see anything but the display. It's possible your daughter is in the same boat -- wants you there but doesn't want you there. So you might find out if there's going to be a curtain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I had one a few months ago. My experience was that the tech had her eyes on the monitor pretty much the whole time after getting me set up. While she moved the probe around, she was watching the image, not looking at my body. And she was great about leaving the room while I got into the gown, and then again while I got cleaned up (wiped off the gel) and got dressed. It was only slightly uncomfortable a couple of times. It was a pressure feeling, not at all what I would call painful. I would recommend using the restroom right before starting the procedure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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