Hi all,

I've been experiencing occasional bouts of dizziness, chest pain and
labored breath for over 6 months. Nothing obvious has shown up in
examinations until yesterday when the doctor discovered a systolic
click in my heart. He has ordered an echocardiogram and a
electrocardiogram.

The only problem here is that I'm going through the public health
system in New Zealand and, while it's free, the waiting list for the
echo is up to 6 months.

This makes me a little anxious, and I'd appreciate it if anyone here
would outline the risks of having a systolic click. Is this usually a
benign condition? Should I bite the financial bullet and go private to
get the echo done?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul