Echo-Stress test

[Anxious4ever]

I have a stress test in a week or so and wanted to know a few questions if you guys don't mind.

I have read they use the Bruce protocol, is this correct?
Also I'm so confused about the grade% I want to see how I can do this same test at my gym but
I can not find each grade/incline difference.
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/bruce.htm

Is the test pretty tough, how long did you last?

I like to try my own that way I won't be surprised and raise any anxiety when I have this test, this kinda crap
makes me nervous.

[Anxious4ever]

I hope the Dr that I met with is really good, I have heard nothing but good things about him.

I do worry a ton about the whole procedure....

[tom_h]

"How do I find out how many each Dr has done successfully?

That is the hard part..."

This is a moot point for the OP as he has already his choice.  But the answer is easy: You ask.  You ask point blank how many procedures has the EP done.  You ask what was his mortality rate.  These are not offensive questions.  You are of course literally placing you life in the hands of the physician.  You want to make sure he knows what he's doing.  My EP didn't bat an eye when I asked him.  In my particular case, the EP that I selected, one of 3 that I consulted with had done close to 2000 procedures.  Of those 2000, he lost 1 patient, an individual who have serious heart issues going into the lab.  If you don't ask these questions, you have no idea of the skill level of the person you entrust your life to.

[tom_h]

Hope it goes well.....

[Anxious4ever]

I was referred to this Dr, everyone has said he is excellent at what he does.

I have my ablation on the October 7th...

[ScalpMassager]

It's a reasonable and prudent question to ask.  They (or their office staff on their behalf) are free to decline to answer (but of course, not answering is an answer in itself).   I'd hope they would not lie about it.  If their behaviour were horrible I suppose they may have complaints on file with the State medication association.  

Referrals from a trusted friend or doctor, can be valuable -- they put their own reputation on the line by knowledgeably suggesting this or that doctor, rather than your chancing an encounter with a stranger in a more than somewhat secretive profession.

[Anxious4ever]

How do I find out how many each Dr has done successfully?

That is the hard part...

[tom_h]

".....I asked him how many he has done and he told me that he has done around 150-200 of them....."

"He said he does ablations weekly and seemed very confident in the precedure. "

Do you see where I'm heading with this?  If he does them weekly, and does 3 per week let's say, that would give him a year and half experience with the procedure.  I would look for an electrophysiologist who has done a couple of thousand procedures and can give you an accurate success rate.  

[Anxious4ever]

I met with my cardio today, he was really good and explained everything to me and said I could live with it and it would not kill me, he said I could keep taking the meds that I'm on for life and I could even stop taking them to see if the SVT comes back.
He said I can also get a ablation if I want to, he said if its affecting my life and stops me from doing things that I normally would then he recommends the ablation.
I asked him how many he has done and he told me that he has done around 150-200 of them and studied in Michigan, he also said if he goes in and finds that abnormal current is coming to close to my SA node that he would not do the ablation due to the chance of needing a pace maker.
He said he does ablations weekly and seemed very confident in the precedure.

So now I don't know what to do...

Right now I'm leaning towards the ablation.

[Anxious4ever]

michellepetkus thank you so much, you have been very helpful on helping me get through this so far.
I have been doing a little better and my SVT has improved a bit (knock on wood).
I will find out tomorrow what the cardiologist recommends.
and post it here....

[MichelleP_3811]

Ok, so your heart is structurally healthy which means what issues you do have likely pose no threat to you.  I would talk to a cardiologist to evaluate the tachycardia that was caught and see what they say but this is some good news.

[Anxious4ever]

Okay, so I seen my regular Dr. not my cardiologist and he said everything looked good with my echo stress test, but if I had any questions about ablations or a study I would have to ask a cardiologist.

[Anxious4ever]

I find out the results today, I really hate waiting...
I asked if I had any SVT when I was doing the test and the lady said no.

I'm not so much worred about the stress test part, I'm worried about the echo...

[MichelleP_3811]

Good to hear.  If they saw anything glaringly wrong it would have been apparent so you will probably get good results.

[Anxious4ever]

So I had the test and they said everything looked good but final results will
be in tomorrow.
My blood pressure was way high, I was so SO nervous.
I finished the test with a 160 BPM, which was easy to achieve with the amount of anxiety I was having.

I'm still nervous about the "final results"

I did have a cardiologist in the room with me that looked over my echo and the EKG while I was that and he said everything looks good.  

[MichelleP_3811]

I would suspect they would.

[Anxious4ever]

Will they stop my stress test if I have a episode of SVT?

[MichelleP_3811]

Deep breaths.  It is going to be fine and I suspect the results will show a healthy heart.  Hang in there.  Let us know how it went.

[Anxious4ever]

Well my Test is tomorrow and my anxiety is turned on full blast.

Like I said I'm not so much afraid of the test but I'm freaking out about waiting for the results....

I also had to stop taking my beta blocker for this test, I been taking it for about a week now 25mg toprol xl, will I have withdrawal and will my SVT come back with vengeance?

This $hit has been to much to take in all at once.... :(

[Anxious4ever]

I did that test myself, the one were you get you heart to 85% then sit down for 1 min and test it then test again at 2 mins.
Mine came out a little lower then my age group.

Lately at the gym, I have actually been taking it easy, I'm also on beta blockers so there is almost no damn way to hit my target heart rate without over doing it.

I'm still freaking out about the test daily, I had a echo-cardiogram about 10 years ago and it came out perfect but a lot can change in 10 years.

I'm also suppose to stop taking my beta blocker before my stress test and that is kinda making me worried also, I thought I was suppose to wean off the beta blocker if I stopped taking it.

The pills are helping a ton and I really don't want to feel this SVT again.

[ScalpMassager]

yes, 10% better than 'normal' people my age (I'd rather they described it as my heart's biological age but when I get a copy of the test results it will have 'metabolic equivalents' and I can refer to charts as to what's expected for what age).  Else, I could hope they're referring to healthy normal people (and not the 2/3rds of North Americans who are overweight or obese).

I'm clueless as to what "number 8" on your gym's treadmill would mean, a lot of commercial treadmills go from 0 to 10 or 15 degrees (0 can be really hard on the knees, at least 1 or 2 degrees is safer).  There's no handy conversion chart for that machine?  You could bring along a tape measure and use some simple high school geometry to get the angle that the treadmill's inclined.

Pushing yourself really hard in a gym setting might be risky (though, general training ought to lead to your being able to put our more 'metabolic equivalents' which is seen as a general health indicator but mostly I think the test is to reveal any heart defects while being stressed).  I've read of another useful indicator (of the risk level for sudden cardiac death) is the heart recovery rate (at the two and one minute point just after the exertion finishes, along with the difference in those two numbers).

I think the clinical setting (vs a gym) for treadmill testing ought to minimally have:  a supervising clinician, who can competently administer a jumpstart gadget (defribillator) if need be, since the point of the test is to challenge you (to 90% of your expected heart rate capability for your age?  or at least until you signal that you've had enough).  Without high confidence in my heart's condition, I'd not like to tackle more than 70% of my 'maxium heart rate' and do see that as my upper limit in a non-supervised setting.

During my two tests the clinician was periodically also (manually) checking my blood pressure.

[Anxious4ever]

I get the stress-echo on the 15th.

My anxiety was under control pretty well for the last 6-7 months, I seem to have episodes that set me off and I will have severe anxiety for a few weeks at a time, its now 24/7/365.

Did they tell you that you did 10% better then normal people your age?
Its not so much the test I'm worried about, its more like the results that are freaking me out.

As for attempting to replicate the Bruce stress test, I been going to the gym for a little longer then 1 year now, I run on the treadmill with it inclined to number 8 and some times I keep it on incline number 2 at 4-5 MPH for 30 mins 5-7 days a week.

I like to think I'm in good condition, I'm not overweight at all and eat healthy most of the time, I do slip up and eat bad here and there.

Also I have the bruce stress test from google but I can not figure out what grade% is compared to incline number.

[ScalpMassager]

So, have you had your treadmill stress test?  

I've had two, the latest was just over a week ago, and one two years ago.  I did Much better on the second one (10% better for my age, versus earlier 10% worse than expected for my age), even though with the hot weather I'd become somewhat deconditioned and I attribute that to being 30 pounds lighter -- less body mass to lug around for my heart to cope with, and, less fatty tissue mass for my heart to pump blood through.

You clearly have anxiety issues -- I urge you to try rationing the amount of time you put into worrying about your health concerns (perhaps choose a set day & time of the week, and the rest of the time, merely jot down thoughts that you want to dwell on during a set worry/contemplation time).  Else I think the aspect of your health being an ever active concern (24/7/365) could become incredibly oppressive and anxiety provoking.

You could phone the clinic to confirm the method (yes, likely the Bruce protocol), it should then be easy enough to google the specifics.  But you mention trying to duplicate it (without medical supervision) which sounds ill-advised imo.

[MichelleP_3811]

It would definitely say nsvt if it was ventricular tachycardia so it is a tachycardia in the atria that they saw.  While doing all your research have you found anything that truly matched up with your symptoms?  If you only have one of any of the major symptoms that is a good bet that you would not have the illness so do try to keep your research in perspective and use it to gain knowledge as opposed to scare yourself more.  As for exercising, if your heart is not use to exercise, 30 minutes may be tough for anyone.  There would likely be pressure and even some pain depending on how hard you pushed but it would subside pretty quickly once you stopped.  It would not linger and the heart rate would drop back to normal after a certain amount of time.  If a person spends consistent time exercising eventually they will notice their stamina and how hard they can push themselves before they feel it get longer and longer.  But in general if there was heart disease of some sort heavy exercise would likely be very difficult.  I will also say that getting my tachycardia fixed seemed to help me tolerate exercise better though I was never at a point where I couldn't do it at all.

[Anxious4ever]

Sorry I wish I could edit my comment.
On the hospitals website I can look up my test, diagnoses, health concerns ect.

It says PSVT-paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia

If it was NSVT it would say that right?
Right now its easy to send my head in another direction so I just went to be clear.