just had stress test and Signal-Averaged Electrocardiogram

[aylish28]

hi guys-- i was wondering if many of you have had stress tests as i am wondering if mine seemed normal for how i was feeling--they had me stay walking till my heart reached 184 bpm and by then i was very breathless and had some lung burning and felt a little lightheaded--my blood pressure seemed to be 125/82 at start--it took a good maybe 5 minutes for rate to return to normal of about 85 bpm,,does this sound normal??cardiologist not very forthcomeing,,asked if i had an echo and i had 6 months ago and other ecg-- yes to that-- said book an appt and will discuss results,,only other thing he said was in ref to my cold that i have had for 3 weeks-- 'your cold shouldnt be hanging on this long in a seemingly health person...???so i guess if he had seen something scary on my tests this am he would have told me or requested other tests??i dunno i am just very anxious--in fact all night last night  it seemed like every few minutes i awoke to pounding but not raceing heart-- i am exhausted today and called in to work --also yesterday at work i seemed to have little runs of ectopics every 10-=20 minutes,,, and since getting over this cold i have had a tight sore chest and back ,,and now a naggy tickly cough--i seem very prone to coughs and they last months--wondering if they are connected in any way to my ectopics??thanks guys  -- your all awesome and i sure appreciate all your replies and insights!!!

[Kenny1948]

I had a stress test last year.  However it was a "chemical" stress test where they inject a chemical that mimics the treadmill.  I felt like I had been hit by a truck!  The doctor did not say anything as to whether this was normal or not.
In the follow up, I was told that it showed that I "might" have some minimal blockage in one of my arteries.  
I really wish I had been given a treatmill test, so I would have known what I was experiencing.  The chemical test took only a few minutes to reach the maximum output for my heart.  So like standing still to running a marathon!  I still don't know if what I felt was because of the chemical, or because my heart was ready to give out.

[Mom2four85]

oh yeah they push you on the stress test - I think to see if you are holding back because of anxiety and to see what your heart will do

I just remember the dr saying this doesn't look so good; something about couplets, then I passed out and she grabbed me to stop me from hitting the treadmill - she told me I had a triplet in recovery and asked if I was going to pass out again.  My total test time was 4:55; a 1 min warm up and 1 min cooldown was included in that; so I only lasted 2:55 but I got my target HR of 154 at least =)

[aylish28]

they did force me to go past the point where i wanted to stop and did ask to stop twice--it was very uncomfortable,,but i survived--no one told me if i had any pvc s etc at any point  guess i need to wait for the follow up appt--great another 2 weeks of what if worry!!!

good luck on your test ,,,!!!!

[Tash213]

Hi there,

Im due to have my first cardiologist appoint tom morn and pretty nervous.

I posted my details on another page and got some response... lisa being one of them so thank you for that :)

Basically im an aerobics instructor so pretty fit and active. However the thought of being on a treadmill and told to work out until you pass out is scary! My mum had one done 10 years ago in her 60's where she'd never exercised before and was overweight. She kept telling them she couldnt breathe and needed to stop but they insisted she carry on. Unfort in my opinion they pushed her way too far and it resulted in her collapsing and being taken to A & E and wired up where they couldnt get her heart rate to come back down again and wanted to give her the electric shock treatment!! In the end they cut her open and sent liquid into her heart! Im terrified the same thing will happen to me where I want to stop and they dont let me!

Im used to going to the gym a few times a week and working out on the treadmill but obv with a view to taking water and rest if i need to, and very much following safe guidelines of warming up first and then progressing, so the heart is able to adjust.

The stories of these stress tests are scary so why then do they keep pushing people past their abnormal daily limit and causing these heart problems??

They also dont seem to tell you to come prepared for all this hence not being in gym kit/trainers or know what to expect. Its all a little un-nerving, but heres hoping ill be okay and you guys will be too :)

Thanks

Tash

[Mom2four85]

When I had my stress test done, they had to stop it due to shortness of breath, my hr/bp then I started having pvc couplets and I had a triplet in the 1 min recovery (my qrs segment went all funky) and I passed out - they sent me to the other side of their office right then to have an Echo done.

Here's a link with info on recovery rates: http://www.skippinghearts.com/articles/normal-heart-test-values/  the normal decreases are listed there with articles and references and a great easy to read explanation about recovery rates [5, 6, 7, 8]

maybe they should find the root of your cold and see if it's something else going on, that could cause you to feel poorly also