Questions posted in the Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Subject: Re: metabolic equivalent unit (mets) formula
Forum: The Heart Forum

Topic Area: Stress Test

Posted by George on August 07, 1999 at 20:01:26PHi, In july I had a stress test on bruce protocol treadmill.Doctor gave me all test results except for the mets.These are the results of the treadmill bruce stress test. Event Time Speed Grade HR BP rest 99 144/80 stage 1 3:00 1.7 10 121 160/80 stage 2 3:00 2.5 12 136 stage 3 3:00 3.4 14 154 182/82 stage 4 3:00 4.2 16 168 stage 5 2:34 5.0 18 185 stop ex. 14.34 Interpretation: The patient exercised for 14.34 minutes on a standard Bruce protocol and stopped because of fatigue.The HR rose to 185 beats and the BP rose to 182/82.He denied any chest discomfort.There were no significant ST segment change.Summary 1.Negative exercise EKG 2.Excellent exercise capacity. According to the above stress test results, how many METS did I achieve? What is the formula for METS in stress testing?Thank you.George By away I am 35 years old male weigh 166 pounds and 5'11 feet tall.PPHR WIDTH=75% SIZE=4 COLOR=#000090Posted by CCF CARDIO MD JMF on August 08, 1999 at 14:57:36PbrDear Gerge,pMETS or metabolic equivalents are estimated by the work load estimated at 14 minutes of a standard bruce protocol in your case. p1 MET is equivalent to 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram body weight per minute. 14 minutes into a bruce protocol, you are walking 5.0 mph on an 18 % grade this is the equivalent of 16 - 17 mets. or about 60 ml/kg/min of oxygen consumption. In general, we do not ask people to exercise at more than 5 mets for cardiovascular benefit.pSound like you're in great shape! Keep up the good work!ppI hope this has been usefPosted by George on August 09, 1999 at 17:05:54


A four months ago (April) I had another Bruce protocol stress test. These are the results.AGE 35; WEIGHT 74.5 KG; EX.MODE TM; BRUCE PROTOCOL; STAGE 6; 15:08 MINUTES; PEAK EXERCISE LOAD 5.5 MPH/20 %; PEAK H.R.: PREDICTED/ACHIEVED/%PRED. 185/186/100; REST BP 110/80; PEAK EX.BP 176/80; TEST TERMINATED BECAUSE OF FATIGUE. IMPRESSIONS: NO ST's.NORMAL BP RESPONSE.GOOD WORK CAPACITY. NORMAL GXT. According to the above test results how many mets did I achieve? And if a mets are estimated and not calculated, how are they estimated?Thank you. George

Posted by CCF CARDIO MD JMF on August 11, 1999 at 11:46:43

Dear George,

Please see my prior posting.

I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.

Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific questions should be addressed to your own
doctor. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call
1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart
Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to
address your cardiac problem.



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