how long is an echo cardiogram test valid

[Orangechicken]

Hi

I'm a 23 year old African American man i weigh approx 350lbs
I'm trying to lose weight . I have had a lot of atypical chest pain, jaw numbness
and some other symptoms. Every time i go to the er they do ekg and say I'm fine.
I live in Chicago and went to Northwestern er on august 29th and they gave me an echo cardiogram stress test that showed no evidence of ischemia, no enlargement, etc
my father died of a heart attack last year, he had chf. I'm so scared.
I've been having bad dreams. I don't want to die young.

Is the echo stress test still reliable 2 months later?

[ireneo]

One other thing - how's your blood pressure? African Americans have more trouble with high BP. A dear friend of mine ignored his, ended up needing a new kidney. You can't feel high blood pressure; it's silent until something goes wrong. Not to be a nag, but that's another good reason to lose some weight. Track your BP and take care of that if needed.

[ireneo]

I'm not sure that your heart would change much in just 2 months unless you had a major event like a heart attack. From what I've read, even people with heart problems like leaky valves or cardiomyopathy only get an echo once a year. I understand that you're scared. You are young and have a lot ahead of you. Good idea that you lose some weight since you have heart problems in the family. Don't give up on that; it's not easy but you'll have more energy if you drop a few. Sometimes extreme stress will cause body pains, shortness of breath, tingling and so on. That may be what's happening now. You've had a good checkup. You know the facts - your heart looks good so far. Focus on that. Take care.