Like stated, anyone ever have to have a Treadmill Stress test done; the one for your heart obviously.
I’ve got to go do one and am wondering what to expect. :/:
it’s long and annoying. They work you like a dog to measure your heart and lungs’ capacity and shit like that. it’s about an hour to 1.5hrs long while you’re hooked up to some type of respirator that measures your breathing and a bunch of electrodes to monitor other things.
X2, wear tight underwear as some of these electrodes are placed on your testicles
The one I took was a joke, I was ready to sweat but it was nothing.
I did one for my heart. EKG wires, blood pressure monitoring. Don’t know where you guys went but no shit was on my balls. Mine lasted just over 14mins, had to get heart rate above 170bpm. Start off walking then every 2mins increased incline. By the end I was in a full sprint. After words they monitor bp, I was all good till my bp kept dropping, ended up dropping to 80/50. Nurse looks at me, asked if I feel ok because I’m turning white and tell me to lay down. She holds me feet up and tells me to be calm and breath. I swear the other nurse had her hand on the phone ready to dial 911. Cardiologist comes in looks at my chart, blood pressure starts coming back up, says OK your fine have a nice day.
Good luck man. Drink plenty of water today and stay hydrated.
Ain’t the hydration that’s worrying me… it’s the increased frequency of chest pains on my left side…
My dad took one and failed. they ambulance rushed him from Degraff where he took the test to BGH to have open heart (4 bypasses, 1 valve repair) that was 5 years ago and he has been doing great. and they did it bloodless it was pretty impressive.
Hope yours is better. 
if you think that is going to happen then you probably really need to have this test done.
i had it done a couple years ago… you stand on a treadmill with some wires attached to you and run for 25 minutes… it’s as difficult as it sounds which varies by person.
IF you’re going to pass out i suspect they will let you stop instead of dying in their office.
I had to do one for my heart last year.
They injected me with some dye so they could watch my heart as I ran.
Like has been described, they hooked a bunch of wires up to me and asked me to keep running faster until I didn’t think I could go anymore.
It really wasn’t bad physically.
It’s more uncomfortable thinking about what COULD be wrong with you, and not wanting to find out.
Just know you’re not alone and it’s good you’re being proactive about it.
It’s not a matter of thinking it’s happening… it’s a matter of me getting dull pressure/ache/hard to breathe pains in my left chest that last about 15-20 mins. I used to get them maybe once every 6 months or so, now I’m getting them every couple days. Can’t ID a trigger though; Doesn’t appear to be activity related (just went boarding for 7 hours on Monday and felt great the whole time).
I saw the doc yesterday and he’s thinking it’s most likely complications relating to GERD and my esophagus spasming because it has an ulcer (he’s 80+% that it’s this); but I’ve got a few “key” things that point that it maybe something with my heart/arteries. So I’ve got the paperwork/script to get the treadmill test done and will be scheduling it shortly.
In all reality though… this is scaring the hell out of me that it could be something heart related.
170bpm… damn. I’d have to be at a full sprint for 10 minutes before I hit that. My resting BPM is only about 55 and under vigorous exercise only goes up to 155ish.
I guess its based on age, I can get up to 150 no problem at the gym but it took all I had to get it over 170.
Ive been dealing with crazy anxiety for the last 2 years. Did all the tests, MRI, blood, heart. I had dizzy spells, insomnia, chest pains, sweats. Went to the ER once because I thought I might be having a heart attack.
Heart was the scariest part of all the test. Stress test, echocardiogram, wore a heart monitor for 2 weeks, I did it all. That sucked, dealing the the wires everyday, sleeping at night. My attacks got so bad that I hoped they found something wrong.
As scary as it is try to be calm. I mentally prepared myself that if it was a heart issue I was ready for them to open me up. I’m only 32.
You guys are at least making me feel better. I thought I was falling apart at 30 from too many deployments overseas.
Well… Did the test today… Not good but not horrible results.
Good news - EKG was relatively normal, minor hypertension. Gym and major diet change starts now… Gotta get this in check ASAFP!
Bad news… I have either a hole in between the 2 halves of my heart 95% probable, or a hole in the blood vessels of my lungs 5% Probable; docs arent sure which. Unoxygenated blood is mixing with oxygenated blood when my heart is loaded or under stress. Not at the treatable point yet, but something I have to be conscious of as it could cause future issues.
I knew something was wrong… I just knew before I even had it done, just didn’t know how bad. I’m glad it’s only what it is, it could be 100000x worse.
Stay healthy my friend!!!
Has to be a huge relief to find out what the issue is.
Some ways yes, some ways no. It’s great knowing wtf is wrong and why I get winded so bad when working out. But at the same time…
Most people don’t find out about the hole in the heart unless it’s extremely effecting them; or they have a Stroke. The lungs act as a filter for blood clots and such; with the hole, clots and similar can bypass the lungs and get pumped right to the brain. THAT my friend is a scary fucking thought… especially with a 17mo son…
Step 1 should be education. Read some books, follow some good blogs. I hate to think of how many people with good intentions of eating better and getting active fail because they don’t understand what “better” means and try to do the fucking bullshit on the biggest loser or follow FDA guidelines (which will make you sick.)
i.e. bacon, eggs, and coffee for breakfast will make you a lot healthier than a bran muffin colon blow type breakfast.
A brisk walk or, once you’re ready for it, some safe sprinting is a lot better and less miserable that churning away on a cardio machine for an hour.
my bacon thing went off