All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Most of the worry about an ECG is about what it might find, not the test itself. Tap each one.
Four things worth knowing
Ten adhesive electrodes on your chest, arms and legs, connected to a machine that listens. Nothing is put into you and nothing passes through you — the machine only records.
“Does an ECG involve any needles?”If you have chest pain, pressure, or pain spreading to your arm, neck or jaw right now, ring 000. An ambulance can start treatment on the way and an emergency department can do things a GP clinic cannot.
“I'm having chest pain right now.”An ECG records a few seconds of your heart's activity. A rhythm problem that comes and goes may well be absent in that window, which is why a normal result sometimes leads to more testing rather than reassurance.
“Could something be missed on this?”Blood pressure medicines, thyroid medication and a number of others change how the heart's electrical activity looks. Your GP needs the list to read the trace properly rather than in isolation.
“Here's everything I'm taking.”Open any of these for what it involves. An ECG is quick, so it is frequently the first test rather than the last.
Palpitations
What happens An ECG while you are in the room, and — because palpitations usually stop by the time you get here — often a longer recording afterwards to catch them as they happen.
A heart that races, thumps, flutters or seems to skip. Most palpitations turn out to be harmless, but the ones that are not are worth finding, and an ECG is the first step.
If they come and go, a Holter monitor worn for a day or more, or a longer-term monitor, catches what a ten-second trace cannot.
Chest pain
What happens An ECG, a careful history, an examination and blood tests. The history does more of the work than people expect — what brings the pain on and what settles it is highly informative.
If you have chest pain right now, ring 000. Do not drive yourself, and do not wait for an appointment.
Chest pain has many causes, and plenty of them are not the heart: reflux, muscles, ribs, anxiety, lungs. Working out which is exactly what the appointment is for.
If your GP is concerned about your heart, you go to hospital rather than home with a plan. That is not alarmism — it is the only safe way to handle it.
Before medication
What happens Some medicines affect the heart's electrical activity, so an ECG before starting and sometimes during treatment is part of prescribing them safely.
ADHD medicines, some antidepressants and antipsychotics, and a number of other drugs can affect the heart's rhythm or its electrical timing.
A baseline trace before starting means any later change can actually be interpreted, rather than leaving everyone guessing whether it was always like that.
Health checks
What happens An ECG is not a routine part of a general health check for everyone, but it is used where there is a specific reason — symptoms, an abnormal pulse, a family history, or an assessment that requires it.
A normal ECG in someone with no symptoms does not mean much, and an abnormal one in the same situation often leads to tests that were never needed. Context is what makes the test useful.
Some commercial driver and licensing medicals require an ECG as part of the assessment, and that is arranged as part of the medical.
An ECG is very good at some things and blind to others. Knowing which is which makes the result far less confusing. Tap a card.
Anything electrical, happening at the moment of the recording.
A normal ECG is reassuring, not conclusive.
If you have chest pain, pressure, or pain spreading to your arm, neck or jaw, ring 000 rather than booking. An ambulance can begin treatment on the way.
Ten minutes, and here is all of it. Tap any card.
Say it is for an ECG so the right room and equipment are free. Bring your medication list.
Flip backYou undress to the waist and lie down. A gown is provided, a chaperone is available, and the door stays closed.
Flip backTen adhesive electrodes on your chest, arms and ankles. Chest hair occasionally needs a small shave for them to stick.
Flip backThe recording takes about ten seconds. Lie still, breathe normally and try not to talk — movement shows up as interference.
Flip backThe stickers come off, you get dressed, and that is the test over. Nothing lingers and there is nothing to recover from.
Flip backYour GP reads the trace during the appointment. The machine offers an interpretation; a doctor decides what it means.
Flip backExplained to you there and then, along with what if anything happens next.
Flip backA Holter monitor, an echocardiogram, a stress test or a cardiology referral — arranged before you leave.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print it. When a symptom happens and what brings it on matters as much as the trace itself.
ECGs are done here and read the same day. If the trace or your history needs a cardiologist, your GP will arrange it.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Where a cardiologist, an echocardiogram or a stress test is the right next step, your GP will arrange it and explain the waiting times and any out-of-pocket cost.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
No. Ten adhesive stickers are placed on your chest, arms and ankles and the machine records. Nothing is injected and nothing passes through you. The only mild discomfort is the stickers coming off.
About ten minutes including getting undressed and set up. The recording itself takes around ten seconds.
Yes, on weekdays, with a valid Medicare card, along with the appointment. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception.
No fasting and no special preparation. Bring your medication list, and avoid heavy body lotion on your chest that day since the electrodes need to stick.
Yes. Your GP reads the trace during the appointment and explains what it shows. The machine prints an interpretation, but a doctor decides what it actually means.
That is common and it is not the end of the process. A standard ECG records about ten seconds, so an intermittent problem is easily missed. A Holter monitor or a longer-term recorder is often the next step.
A small recorder worn for a day or more that records continuously, so an irregular rhythm that comes and goes has a chance of being captured. Your GP arranges it where your symptoms suggest one is needed.
Not reliably. It may show changes if the heart is being starved of blood at that moment, but narrowed arteries often produce a completely normal resting trace. A stress test or imaging is what answers that question.
Yes, as part of the medical. Note that assessments requested by an employer or licensing body sit outside Medicare, so a fee applies — reception will quote it beforehand.
If you have chest pain, pressure, or pain spreading to your arm, neck or jaw right now, ring 000. Do not drive yourself. An ambulance can begin treatment on the way and that genuinely changes outcomes.
If your heart has been doing something you have been quietly wondering about, this is the test that starts answering it. And if you have chest pain right now, ring 000 instead.
A resting ECG records your heart's rhythm in about ten minutes, with no needles, and your GP reads it with you. Chest pain happening now is an emergency: call 000.
We are in Salamander Bay Shopping Centre with free parking, and patients come from across Port Stephens and the Tomaree Peninsula, including Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Lemon Tree Passage and Medowie.
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