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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
need an answer for this test please
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests
need an answer for this test please
by stellatj, Feb 09, 2003 12:00AM
Hi thanks for your help i am scheduled to have a thallium stress test called nuclear perfusion my instructions say no coffee or tea or caffaine for 48 hours not even decaf can you please explain why i am gonna go crazy without my coffee. they say they test my heart at rest then i walk the treadmill and they test it again but why no caffaine thanks
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-RCJ, Feb 09, 2003 12:00AM
timok,
Great question.
Caffeine is a stimulant, and thus raises the baseline heart rate. One of the parameters we measure at the Clinic is called "Chronotropic competence (Cc)". This is calculated as:
Cc = (max heart rate - rest heart rate)/(85% MPHR - rest heart rate).
If the Cc is less than 0.8, then it is abnormal, and thus adversely affects the patient's prognosis. The higher the resting heart rate, than the more likely the Cc will be abnormal. Therefore, we ask you to not take any stimulants, such as caffeine, prior to the test.
Hope that helps.
Great question.
Caffeine is a stimulant, and thus raises the baseline heart rate. One of the parameters we measure at the Clinic is called "Chronotropic competence (Cc)". This is calculated as:
Cc = (max heart rate - rest heart rate)/(85% MPHR - rest heart rate).
If the Cc is less than 0.8, then it is abnormal, and thus adversely affects the patient's prognosis. The higher the resting heart rate, than the more likely the Cc will be abnormal. Therefore, we ask you to not take any stimulants, such as caffeine, prior to the test.
Hope that helps.
MPHR is Maximum Predicted Heart Rate and is generally calculated as 220-age.
RCJ