Then the radiologist discovered something ‘extremely rare’

« This was just a regular x -ray of the chest, but it revealed something the patient was not aware of at all, » he said, according to the US media.

Previous studies have shown that many people skip important health studies. A 2023 study among over 2,000 full -time Americans showed that every other one had avoided at least one regular health screening, and every fourth had skipped regular medical visits because they ‘felt healthy and healthy’.

Diaz hopes that stories like the one he has chosen to share on his Tiktok profile @onedayyoumay, people tell that ‘even when you feel healthy, there can be things that only imaging can reveal’.

The patient who came in to X -ray that day had no idea what the study would show – and Diaz was also very surprised by that.

« When I saw it in the picture, I was honestly shocked, » he said.

« At first I thought the picture was turned wrong, which we always double check. But when I looked at the cursor showing the correct page, I knew the picture was correct. »

What Diaz saw was a textbook example of decstrocardia, which is an innate condition where the heart develops in the right side of the chest instead of the left. According to John’s Hopkins Medicine, this rare heart defect occurs only in ca. 1 in 12,000 newborns.

« It’s one of those moments that really catches one’s attention because it’s so rare to see in reality, » he said.

However, it was not the first time he had seen it.

« I actually encountered decstrocardy for the first time as a student a few years ago. There are technicians with 25 years of experience who have only seen it once in their careers – so experiencing it twice already is something that stands out, » he said.