Free PFO testing in Los Angeles
Hey all:
After taking an undeserved minor type 1 shoulder hit i decided to go get a PFO test. The "Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound" (TCD) is the way to go these days as it much cheaper and less invasive than "Transesophageal Echocardiogram" (TEE) which involves sedation and a probe going down your throat. It is also much more reliable than "Transthoracic Echocardiogram" (TTE) which is also less expensive and invasive than TEE but much less accurate.
You'd think it would be easy to find someone in LA but it took a considerable amount of googling and emailing to finally find a doctor to do this. Best part is, he is doing research on pregnant women and PFOs and performs this procedure completely free of charge. Not being female or pregnant, i fit into the control group.
The whole process was very simple. His research team met me at 930am in the lobby of 200 UCLA Medical Plaza, and within minutes, after signing some consent forms i was getting the procedure done. A helmet of sorts was put on my head, with gelled sonar attachments that fit on my temples. A catheter/IV was put into my right vein near the elbow and the technician used two syringes to introduce bubbles into the saline solution mixed with a little bit of my blood. i don't like needles so i didn't spend much time looking at the whole thing.
Then the bubbles were released into my vein and the techs monitored the computer screen. They get a result almost immediately. I was a zero. Then i blew into a tube attached to a pressure gauge and was told to hit and maintain a "40" pressure. This mimics a valsalva technique in a controlled manner. Again bubbles were released, i was monitored and the result was a zero. No PFO!
They took off the helmet, cleaned up the gel and sent me on my way. That's it. The whole thing took 45 mins, 20 of which was parking and walking to and back from the office. The only money spent was $11 for parking. Highway robbery for 45 mins if you ask me.
Note, the doctor does not perform this himself, his staff does, but they do up to 8 a day and really know what they are doing.
I mentioned i have quite a few dive buddies that would like this done and they had quite "the more the merrier" attitude about it.
The only contact info i have is one of the tech's personal email addresses which i don't want to post online but if anyone wants to book an appt PM me and i will happily provide you with his info.
Ari
After taking an undeserved minor type 1 shoulder hit i decided to go get a PFO test. The "Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound" (TCD) is the way to go these days as it much cheaper and less invasive than "Transesophageal Echocardiogram" (TEE) which involves sedation and a probe going down your throat. It is also much more reliable than "Transthoracic Echocardiogram" (TTE) which is also less expensive and invasive than TEE but much less accurate.
You'd think it would be easy to find someone in LA but it took a considerable amount of googling and emailing to finally find a doctor to do this. Best part is, he is doing research on pregnant women and PFOs and performs this procedure completely free of charge. Not being female or pregnant, i fit into the control group.
The whole process was very simple. His research team met me at 930am in the lobby of 200 UCLA Medical Plaza, and within minutes, after signing some consent forms i was getting the procedure done. A helmet of sorts was put on my head, with gelled sonar attachments that fit on my temples. A catheter/IV was put into my right vein near the elbow and the technician used two syringes to introduce bubbles into the saline solution mixed with a little bit of my blood. i don't like needles so i didn't spend much time looking at the whole thing.
Then the bubbles were released into my vein and the techs monitored the computer screen. They get a result almost immediately. I was a zero. Then i blew into a tube attached to a pressure gauge and was told to hit and maintain a "40" pressure. This mimics a valsalva technique in a controlled manner. Again bubbles were released, i was monitored and the result was a zero. No PFO!
They took off the helmet, cleaned up the gel and sent me on my way. That's it. The whole thing took 45 mins, 20 of which was parking and walking to and back from the office. The only money spent was $11 for parking. Highway robbery for 45 mins if you ask me.
Note, the doctor does not perform this himself, his staff does, but they do up to 8 a day and really know what they are doing.
I mentioned i have quite a few dive buddies that would like this done and they had quite "the more the merrier" attitude about it.
The only contact info i have is one of the tech's personal email addresses which i don't want to post online but if anyone wants to book an appt PM me and i will happily provide you with his info.
Ari
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marc Blackwood on -
PFO party!
Glad to hear the result. Palawan + Star of Scotland next month?
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Permalink Reply by Ari Shofet on -
chris email sent, yah marc i'm down for some diving.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Ambrose on -
Yah, I had it done in Seattle (but had to pay $300) and was a zero too.
For me, this is the way to go -- even if you have to pay. Cost effective and accuracy seems to be very good from the figures presented.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Messinger on -
Ari, thank you for sharing about this. I would like to be tested and will be in LA in a couple of months. Can't find a way to email you... so sent a friend request. Thanks.
-Ben
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Permalink Reply by Ari Shofet on
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Hey Ben, you've been "friended" and i sent you a PM with the info. good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Ben Messinger on
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Thanks, Ari!
-Ben
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Permalink Reply by Ken Liu on -
Hi,
I am new to this forum and am having problems figuring out how to communicate with members on this board. I had actually sent a communication to an instructor on this board, but never heard back, so I don't know if the instructor ever received my message.
Could someone PM or email me at liuk3@yahoo.com the contact info for this PFO test? I live in west Los Angeles and would like to have it done if still available.
Thanks,
Ken
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Permalink Reply by Ari Shofet on
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sending u email now.
Ari
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Permalink Reply by kevrumbo on -
Now I know what to expect (Ruby the Doppler Tech just called me to set up the appt). . .
Couldn't get my primary health insurance to cover an elective TEE with a private Cardiologist, without a more definitive cardiovascular diagnosis (history of decompression sickness, R/O PFO evidently is not eligible); so I volunteered for this PFO study at UCLA. . .
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Permalink Reply by kevrumbo on
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Well Rainer . . .then you tell my primary carrier so with conviction! They won't cover a private TEE unless it's actually heart related (i.e. heart murmur; mitral valve insufficiency; cardiomegaly w/ atherosclerosis etc). History of Decompression Sickness is not a covered condition, so my insurance won't pay for it. . .
Rainer said:but kev, you DO have a history of decompression sickness!
;)
kevrumbo said:Now I know what to expect (Ruby the Doppler Tech just called me to set up the appt). . .
Couldn't get my primary health insurance to cover an elective TEE with a private Cardiologist, without a more definitive cardiovascular diagnosis (history of decompression sickness, R/O PFO evidently is not eligible); so I volunteered for this PFO study at UCLA. . .
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Permalink Reply by kevrumbo on
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PFO Grade Zero for me, both resting and 40mmHG Valsalva simulation . . .(yay!)
Was kind of neat the way the Tech agitated my blood, 1cc syringe to syringe push back-and-forth through a 3-way cannulation valve locally, and then bolus push the whole frothy bubbly mess with normal saline back into my cubital vein. . .
The most interesting fact was that it would only take five seconds for those bubbles to show up at the cranial arteries (where the Doppler transducers are located, hence "Transcranial Doppler"), if a patient had a significant Grade PFO.
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