Heart Stress Test

[pc19682]

Has anyone out there ever had a stress test done? I'm supposed to have one soon, and I'm trying to keep from panicking too much.

Hope this is the right forum. The medical testing one appears to be closed.

[tHamera]

yes, i had an echo stress test done a couple of months ago. they take pictures of your hear via echocardiogram and then i ran on a tredmill for 15min, it the target heart rate and then they took more pics of my heart. it wasnt too unpleasant, but i got peace of mind when my test came back negative ie good health.

good luck.

[decca]

If you're just having a straight forward stress test then all you do is walk on a treadmill while you have ECG leads on your chest, the treadmill is slowly speeded up so that you are walking at a good pace and they may slightly raise the front of the treadmill so it mimics walking up hill, the doc looks at the monitor while you're walking and will be able to see if have any problems.
If you have any problems or the doc wants to double check something they will arrange some echo tests.
Best wishes
Decca

[pc19682]

Thanks. I guess I'm going in for 2 hrs, they're giving me an IV, putting me on the treadmill, sending me home, and bringing me back for more fun.

I've done the treadmill at home before, so hopefully that's not too much of a problem. I'm guessing that I'll be so worked up that it won't take much to get my heart rate high:)

I'm trying to be calm. I'm young and don't have any problems that I know about, other than the panic attacks. I think I am more worried about the test results than the tests themselves.

[Cathy V]

Hi pc, yes like decca said the stress test involves a treadmill, i had that done about 4 years ago, and more recently an exercise bike. You mention panic attacks? they dont usually suggest heart stress tests for panics, have you also had some worring (but harmless as we say on here) heart palps or something?

[pc19682]

Every once in a while (maybe once every 2 weeks) I get a sensation in my chest. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It might be like a pinching or a pressure. It's not extremely painful, just noticeable. It never lasts more than about 10 seconds, if that.

I'm fairly sure it's nothing to worry about, but it there's quite a few times it sends me off into panic. I realize that they may actually be a part of the panic attack, and that I don't realize I'm panicking until the "pain" hits.

I'm strange, I know.

Are the palps when you feel a heartbeat somewhere other than your heart? I feel heartbeats in my stomach every once in a while. That used to really bother me, but I think I'm getting past that one.

My mom died from a stroke; my dad from heart failure. I think that history, combined with the above and the pa's probably contributed to the stress test order.