Yesterday, I was told at work that I needed to undergo a medical check-up today. It was completely unexpected. I have no problem with that—at least not until it comes to the heart auscultation.
I arrived at the health center and went through all the check-ups one by one, and in the end, I reached the three most stressful parts for me: the ECG, blood pressure measurement, and heart auscultation.
The ECG went relatively well. I lay down, the nurse placed the electrodes on my chest, and it was over quickly. My heart rate was a bit elevated, but she didn’t say anything. What mattered most to me was that there were no skipped beats. Since the ECG was done by a nurse, she didn’t comment on anything.
Then I waited to see the general practitioner, who would review all my test results and measure my blood pressure. I was trying to calm myself before going in. My heart was definitely beating faster than usual—not because I was scared, but it was just racing. I’d estimate it was around 100 bpm. When they called my name, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I could feel it pounding in my chest, neck, and even in my ears.
I sat down in front of the doctor. She was an older woman, but polite. She started going through my results and eventually got to the ECG.
“Aha, here’s the ECG... the heart rate is a bit fast here,” she said.
I explained that this only happens when I’m at the doctor’s office—not in everyday situations. She didn’t comment much further.
She then took the cuff and placed it on my arm.
“Let’s check your blood pressure. Put your arm here.”
I felt awkward because my heart was seriously pounding like crazy, so I repeated a few times that my heart is fine otherwise. She didn’t respond.
She inflated the cuff and placed the stethoscope on my arm. There was a short pause—around 6 or 7 seconds. During that pause, I could feel just how strongly my heart was beating, especially through the pulse in my arm. The cuff made it really noticeable. It was beating very fast and hard.
“Oof, what’s this... your systolic is over a hundred and something... oof, I don’t even want to write this in your file,” she said.
I smiled to ease the situation and repeated that I’m fine, just anxious during check-ups.
“Alright, lift your shirt so I can listen to your heart a bit.”
My heart was still pounding like crazy inside my chest—I couldn’t calm it down at all. She placed the stethoscope right under my left nipple, on the apical pulse, but didn’t keep it there for long. After 5–6 seconds, she said:
“Terrible, this is useless...”
I asked if the ECG was okay, and she replied:
“Yes, it is, but your heart is beating extremely fast, it is hammering inside your chest”.
I explained again that I don’t have any symptoms otherwise, but my pulse shoots up at the doctor’s office. In the end, she believed me. She said that if that’s how my body reacts normally, then my heart is fine. She didn’t mention tachycardia like some other doctors have before, so everything turned out okay.
Later, when I glanced at my medical file, I saw that she wrote 140/90 for my blood pressure and 100 bpm for my heart rate, even though both of them felt much higher in reality. I guess she wanted to keep it within a reasonable range in the report, which I honestly appreciated.