that heart stress test?

[vash]

i pulled off 4 days of crazyass mtn-biking. i am a very average mtn biker. i tend to keep all my tires on the ground all the time. but i love (and hate) climbing hills. i rarely drop into my granny front ring. slow and steady grind to the top. i never push my bike...if i have to stop..i stop and deal with starting on a uphill.

my heart rate will redline. and redline often. my breathing is okay..labored but surprisingly doesn't feel like death is coming. recovery is quick.

my wife was watching a video on cholesterol and i saw some images i cannot UN-SEE. total blockages. it got me thinking..how can you tell if you have coated passages? doesnt that stress test look for things like blockages? my brother got scoped by a doc and he said his is totally clear..zero blockage.

my Contractor superintendent had a heart attack in early May..he looks healthy.

does the fact that i can climb mtns indicate healthy blood vessels? am i simulating a heart stress test? or am i kidding myself? i dont want to email my doc and look like a hypo...

[Tobra]

Maybe

Do you have any family or personal history of cardiac issues

[berettafan]

Stress test doesn't tell ****.


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[berettafan]

You've either been scoped or they are guessing.


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[Evans, Marv]

You don't know until a scan/scope or whatever identifies whether you have any or not. However the fact your recovery is quick after hard exercise indicates your aerobic conditioning is good.

[2porscheguy]

You should have a Coronary Calcium Scan done. It's the best test to rule out coronary disease. I had it done 3 months ago and things looked ok. It's a specialized CT scan of your heart so it does involve being exposed to radiation. You may as well also ask to have a scan of your lungs done too "while they're in there"!

[T77911S]

they do a ultra sound.

I had a 20 point difference in blood pressure from one arm to the other,. had a doc say I should get it checked so I did the heart stress test and the ultra sound.

don't think insurance would pay if you just want to have it checked but if you feel there is a real "need" then it should pay.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

You should have a Coronary Calcium Scan done. It's the best test to rule out coronary disease. I had it done 3 months ago and things looked ok. It's a specialized CT scan of your heart so it does involve being exposed to radiation. You may as well also ask to have a scan of your lungs done too "while they're in there"!

Yup.

My Doc and I have been fighting about managing my cholesterol for years. He wanted me on statins and I hated what they did to me and stopped them.

At my physical 2 years ago he told me if I take the Coronary Calcium Scan and score under 10 he'd back off.

Test was $90 out of pocket, took literally 5 minutes and came back as a 9 and change.

High cholesterol is only an issue if you are at risk for arteriosclerosis, blockage.

My pipes are clean so no statins or arguing with the doc anymore plus massive piece of mind.

Oddly enough, the last two years, my cholesterol went from the 270 range to 180.

The only major change, cut out red meat, replaced it with pork.

[Crowbob]

For those not in the know, an EKG simply measures the electrical conductivity of cardiac muscle. High conductivity equals healthy tissue. Low, of course, equals unhealthy tissue. Unhealthy tissue results from inadequate vascularity and diminished blood-flow which itself results from clogged cardiac arteries (i.e, coronary atherosclerosis).

A myocardial infarction (MI) means some heart muscle tissue did not get enough blood and died. A transmural MI means the heart muscle died all the way through the muscle wall from inside the heart to the outside of the heart. When that happens the muscle cannot contract with sufficient force so that the heart does not pump blood efficiently.

An exercise EKG (stress test) measures electrical conductivity while stressing the heart muscle.

[Chocaholic]

And a calcium score is a percentile as compared to others of your same age, race, etc. Had mine done last year and was in the 41st percentile. That means 41% of white guys my age had the same or less plaque and 59% had the same or more. I started 10mg of Crestor (generic) with no side effects.

[CurtEgerer]

Just had an acquaintance go into Emergency last week. They pretty much took him straight to the cath lab to get scoped. 95% blockage in 1 artery and they put in a stent. I told him the good news is that he has now been scoped and knows for sure. One other artery at 35%, all others OK. The rest of us just walk around guessing.

But it has always amazed me that there is not a non-invasive method to determine what the scope can see. Why The Coronary Calcium Scan is sort of like that but it can give false positives and negatives.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

But it has always amazed me that there is not a non-invasive method to determine what the scope can see. Why

I agree.

I've had 2 close friends (which is around 20% of my close circle of friends) have massive heart attacks in the last 2 years. Both are lucky to be alive.

We went to school together or at the same time and are all involved in stressful professions. I've backed way off and have worked hard to stay at my ideal weight. They both have become way overweight (50, 75 lbs overweight, at least), work too much, have too much stress, etc. I.e., prime candidates for clogged arteries and heart attacks.

Yet, nothing is done or diagnosed, until the inevitable heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery.

[Don Ro]

Not sure if this is germane, but 4 years ago I had the chemical (don't know the medical term) stress test done. Scared me down to my shadow!!!
It felt like my heart was trying to crawl out of my chest...like I was knocking on death's door. Never again.

[berettafan]

Chem stress test is used if they don't think you can swing the treadmill.


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[Don Ro]

That makes sense...probably was the case back then. It was post-op quad by-pass.

[dan88911]

Dam after reading this I want to pay out of pocket for a Coronary Calcium Scan, EKG and a Chem stress test.
They say ED is a early sign one may have arteriosclerosis blockage.
Happy report no problems in that department.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by dan88911

Dam after reading this I want to pay out of pocket for a Coronary Calcium Scan, EKG and a Chem stress test.
They say ED is a early sign one may have arteriosclerosis blockage.
Happy report no problems in that department.

ED is a sign of a swelling prostate.

If you are 50 or older Saw Palmetto is your friend.

Trust me.

Seriously.

You'll thank me.

Bigly.

And it's not just about the ED.

You'll be peeing like a teenager again.

[bivenator]

A calcium score test will only indicate whether there is calcification of the arteries. Calcification is often a good indicator of heart disease, however soft plaque which builds up inside the artery is not detectable because it is not calcified. A calcium score test with a low number is not always a clean bill of health.

A heart cath is the gold standard for detecting blockages with a nuclear stress test being the second most accurate. Accuracy for the nuclear stress test is 90+% for blockages 65% and greater.

A treadmill stress test is helpful in a situation like vash's where the risk factors for heart disease are low. Peace of mind.

I work in the nuclear stress testing business operating labs for two different cardiology groups.

My own experience in the value of stress testing. My neighbor and I were working in our yards during the heat of the summer last July. I finished my work, waved at him as I went inside. He went inside shortly after, told his wife he wasn't feeling well. After showering he told his wife to drive him to the hospital and died before he made it through the ER doors. I think about him every day.
Fast forward 3 months and I tell the doc I work for that I haven't been feeling right. He puts me on the treadmill. Chest discomfort and EKG changes earn me a trip to the cath lab. I had two 99% blockages, 3 stents later I feel pretty good.
I have mostly eliminated red meat, fast foods and dropped 25lbs with an exercise regimen.

If you choose to forgo testing in order to assess heart disease then please be aware of what your body is telling you. One of the most common complaints by my patients is fatigue, "I used to be able to mow the yard without stopping but can't now." Short of breath with minimal exertion also is a clue. The most reliable predictor IMHO is family history. If your mother/father or siblings have heart disease then you are a candidate as well.

I miss David, he was a NASA engineer, father of 4. I drove his daughter to the 8th grade dance the other day. I must have gotten something in my eye when I dropped her off.

Listen to your body.

[John Rogers]

I had open heart surgery 4 years ago last month and here is what led up to it. My cholesterol has been at the bottom of the readings for many years, my blood pressure was very bad in the mid 1980's when I was bicycle racing even though my pulse could go over 200 during finish line sprints but has since been well control. I had a "mini stroke" 5 years ago and seemed to recover okay from that and 6 months later the heart specialist said he wanted me to get a stress test. I said okay and they would use the chemicals since I can't run well now days due to left knee replacement. The heart doctor said the only way to see what was going on was the test with the sound system taking pictures of the heart and the surrounding blood vessels. So I said okay........

About a minute after the chemicals were injected my body went crazy, very crazy so badly they brought in the heart doctor. Once it was finished, he said "well now you know what a heart attack is like" and showed me the blocked arteries around my heart. Next day they ran the tube in my arm (I was asleep) to look around and see if stents could be used? The blockage was too bad soooooo two weeks later I had quad by pass and have felt great ever since! The heart surgeon said many times the blockages will just occur even through all the chemistry tests look just fine so the end result is by pass surgery.