Re: Arrythmia and stress test

Posted By Denise on April 19, 1999 at 22:09:50
After having chest pains for several months, I was given
nitroglycerin to ease pain. Generally it appeared to work
until last week. The pain is sharp, probably a 6 on a
1-10 scale. My left arm felt very heavy and achey (achy). My
doctor had previously done an EKG which was normal. This
day she felt after listening to my symptoms and heart,
that I should have a stress test right away. I am a 42
year old woman. My blood pressure was 130/110.
Immediately prior to starting the test, my blood pressure
was 156/98 and my resting heart rate was 114-120. The
cardiologist said the test was normal. My qestions are
the following.1) Why did the word "arrythmia" keep
showing up on the monitor? The test lasted 4 minutes and
the repeats of very different beats and the word
"arrythmia" happened every few seconds. 2). Is arrythmia
normal during these tests? 3). How come the test caused
me to have a violent headache, dizziness and chest pain?
Other people I know never felt this at all? 4). Why
would the nitro work? (I generally hate taking meds but
found these helpul- I stopped taking even with continued
pain). 5). Finally, I had an uncle die from an arrythmia
induced stroke (per my mother) and my mother almost died
when she went into cardiac arrest from arrythmia. My
mother has had difficulty managing her arrythmia and has
been hospitalized numerous times due to this condition.
How would a person know when to pursue a normal stress
test further or when to let it go?

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - CRC on April 20, 1999 at 17:14:37
Dear Denise,
Probably the best person to answer your questions and explain the test results fully and in a manner you can understand is the doctor who ordered the test.  I would recommend calling or making an appointment with her to go over the results.  Best wishes to you.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
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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