Moment of Truth

I went to see Dr. RF this afternoon, knowing it's only going to be a 15-minute visit (at the most).

He's about my height, energetic, a man with fro-like curly gray hair and piercing eyes. The first thing I noticed was his Mickey Mouse tie. Perhaps it's a way to calm my nerves down. He also reminded me of the actor who played Dr. "Ass Man" in one episode of Seinfeld.

Earlier today I wrote up a list of questions to ask Dr. RF. He's quick to give me a review of my test results. Really, I found that out from his assistant. Nothing's wrong.

"What am I doing here?" His keen look humbled me, I must say.

I confirmed with him that he did hear a click sound in my heartbeat, thus suggested those tests. He told me it's perceivable that I might have MVP but it's too minor to be seen on the echocardiogram.

As for heart palpitations, people could have up to 1400 times (700 for upper & low chamber each) premature beats and to be considered normal. I had 28 / 108 that day. Most people don't feel these beats; somehow I do but it's not worth alarming.

Then I told him about the episode I had a few days later after I went to Urgent Care. He said the incident could be caused by panic attack. However, since it happened only once, it's probably nothing. I shouldn't be over-concerned or hyper-aware of my heartbeats and try not to take too much caffeine to instigate rapid heartbeats. Also, I shouldn't avoid exercise. (I didn't.)

He gave me the test reports to take to my regular doctor / primary physician. At least I received something out of this visit.

When I got home, another letter from the insurance company came in the mail. It's not the claims from the Cardiologist's office but more from the Urgent Care. I would be billed for another part of X-ray deal and the "physician's service."

$32 added to the tab. I didn't know why there were 2 separate charges for X-ray lab? The Urgent Care center billed the insurance company nearly $400 for my 10 minutes with the doctor on duty that day.

I had a taste of what it's like to have heart problems. If the disease doesn't kill you, the bills will.