I went for my annual checkup this morning.About 2 hours after returning home my doctor called me and said he wanted me to see a cardiologist.Apparently there was something abnormal on the left side that was not present last year.

Anyone know what this stress test consist of???I feel like I'm doing the stress test now..........after finding out I've been a ball of stress.

I dislike the unknown.....and the only doctor I trust is my own.We're good friends.....we have a bond of trust so I'll follow his advice to the letter.He's seeing patients til 1600 so I have to wait for more info.HELP!!!!!!!!!

Any info appreciated.

Ron

Exercise on a treadmill with electro-diagnostic heart testing (ECG/EKG) and, possibly, CT scan of heart.

In the alternative, they can elevate your heart rate with an injection in order to chemically exercise you.

Bottom line: Your doctor is right on top of things. It could prove to be nothing, On the other hand, it could be a blockage or something. If so, he's right on top of it for you before it becomes acute!

Good on him.

Prayers and well wishes for you!

Much appreciated Robert.Have you been through one of these???

Ron

Good friends?

If I had to predict one guy on these boards who wanted to be friends with the man who sticks a finger up his ass...you'd have been it, Whistlebritches.

BTW, if my doc asks for a stress test, I just bring in a few office bills to open in front of her. Saves the hassle of a treadmill, which is good, 'cause my knees can't handle that sumbee anyway.

Yes, but not because I have a problem.

I have a friend who is a cardiologist and he wanted to do a work-up on me at 45, just to start keeping baseline records.

He was just doing me a favor in his own way...

Thanks Robert

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Pacdaddy

I'm secure enough in my manhood to look my doctor in the eye after said procedure and say....."thank you sir may I have another".LOL Usually when were together the laughter never stops.........I hear some great,although sometimes nasty,doctor stories and he hears some great road stories.I recently,in the last year, introduced him to Habanos.Prior to this he was almost an exclusive Padron smoker..........and only 2-3 a week at that.He's developed a serious Bolivar addiction.........it seems to be epidemic in these parts.

Ron

I had a stress test done about 10 yrs ago. I was in very good shape, playing full court basketball daily but I was having Chest pains and an ache that extended from my teeth down to my sternum every now and then afterward severe enough to make me think about calling for an ambulance a couple of times. I'd pop an aspirin and it would subside but thought I'd better get it checked out. Turned out I was drinking too many caffeinated carbonated beverages and not enough water so my electrolytes were all fouled up. Stopped swilling diet mountain dew and pepsi, started drinking a lot more water and eating bananas to increase my potassium level and it solved the issue

As stated above the stress test consists of getting on a treadmill and they gradually increase the speed to get the heart rate up to a certain point for a sustained period while hooked up to the EKG. Wear a shirt you don't mind sweating in.

Good luck!

Appreciate the info guys......I'm still kind of stressed about it but it seems more common than I thought.My doc told me this afternoon he sends at least 2-3 guys in my age group to cardiologist every week.It seems any abnormality in an EKG no matter how slight needs a more in depth probe(just glad this isn't a colonoscopy).LOL

Ron

Get out of that automatic truck you lazy bastid!

Prayers sent. You will be fine. As Rfenst stated your doc is on top of it and this is probably just a precautionary measure. Anybody over 50 with a decent doc is gonna have one of these done.

It's mild compared to other "procedures" folks in this age group suffer thru!! Imagine if this were a colonoscapy(sp)!! I had one of those and let me tell you I will take 12 stress tests over one colonoscopy any day of the week!!!

I heard Cooper knows his doc real well also.Rumor has it they get together a couple times a month and take turns performing colonoscopies on each other.

Ron

Ron I'm sorry you drive a girls truck.

#6 Sounds like you share some really tender moments. The good news is that you can get married in four states, and enter into civil unions in at least two more.

I hope you, the doc, and his finger will all be happy together.

I had to do one before going to the academy because I was over 35.

As stated above, they hook you up to an EKG and have you walk on a treadmill. Brisk walking, gradually inclined.

Easy as pie.

Ron will you be close to the gas station Sunday?

Whistle, if problem wasn't there last year, then doc caught it early.

good.

And it could be an anomoly--only further tests will tell.

Upside is that cardiac docs/medicine has made some astounding leaps forward in recent years.

There are a few different types of stress tests.

One is an exercise one where you are monitored while walking a treadmill. The treadmill inclines more and more and gets harder to keep up with. No medications are used. Usually done as a baseline indicator. Often they will use the exercise stress test with an echo cardiogram, taking ultrasound pics before and after the test.

There is a Nuclear stress test. In this one you get a bit of Thallium injected by IV. Then they give you a nuclear heart scan to see what you heart is looking like and how it is pumping. Then you walk on the treadmill, same as the exercise test. After the treadmill part you get taken back to the nuclear scan and they scan you again, looking for changes etc. This one is a fasting test, where you can't eat or drink anything for about 12 hours. One doc told me 12 hours (first 3 tests I had) and the next doc I had made it 24 hours (the last test I have had). The 24 one did not go very well and I think it was way too long without at least water. Hard to exercise when dying of thirst. LOL!

If for some reason you can't do the treadmill part of the Nuclear stress test, they can give you a medically induced stress test using dobutimine (sp) or persantine to artificially stress your heart. You still get some kind of nuclear meds also and still have the nuclear scans before and after. I had to do the "nothing after midnight" for this test. It's a mite weird when you are lying there and all of a sudden the heart starts going rinky-dink. But it's over soon.

All tests had the no caffeine for 24 hours rule but the "nothing by mouth" seems to vary.

HTH a little bit. I've had all of the above, with the last one having to be artificially/medically induced.

Take care and let us know how it goes!

Suzi

Will do PB..........thanks to all for the info.

Ron