So I’m undergoing workup for gastric bypass in a couple of months. I’ve had some issues with palpitations so my surgeon made me go see a cardiologist.
I’ve cut WAY back on caffeine and hardly have any palpitations anymore, incidentally.
Anyway, I go see the nice cardiologist; she did an EKG which was perfect, BP was perfect, pulse was fine – basically I’m in extremely good health for someone my size. Then she gave me the choice between a treadmill or chemical stress test. I’m out of shape and I have a bad left hip from (wait for it, wait for it) a treadmill incident a couple of years ago, so I opted for the chemical stress test because she said if the treadmill test didn’t get them the results they needed, I’d just have to do a chemical test anyway.
A test that I DON’T need and I’m pretty pissed off about having to do it at all, I might add.
Anyhow … I’m kinda scared. My heart is totally fine, I know … but there’s the whole “OMG what if this triggers an MI and I die” thing in the back of my mind. Plus the idea of laying there while they pump me full of chemicals to try to make my heart freak out is scary.
I know nothing about these tests other than there’s um … an IV and some chemicals and for some weirdass reason it’s gonna be done in 2 parts on 2 different days.
So tell me. What was yours like? What can I expect? Does it hurt?
I had one several years ago. It just feels like a tremendous pressure on your chest. Not unbearable, (YMMV) but definitely uncomfortable. Luckily, the reversal chemical works quickly and you’ll be back to normal in a minute or two. My biggest fear was that they wouldn’t be able to reverse it, but that fear was unfounded.
My experience was a single session so I can’t comment on the two part part.
I’ve done the (nuclear) stress test several times: Hard work on a treadmill for about fifteen minutes then an injection of a radioactive substance to enable imaging of your heart and its efficiency. See here
I do understand that there is a chemical test that causes your heart to work very hard to accomplish the test, but I haven’t done that.
I have been told that the chemical test is used for folks that can’t do the physical exercise needed for the treadmill test.
The (physical) test is really no big deal, but it does require “heavy” physical exertion.
I had the chemical stress test a couple of weeks ago. No biggie. The two parts are, I think, one at rest and the second, under the chemical stress. Weird sensations are minor and pass quickly. You can ask about your concerns! My MD watched the second part; frequent inquiries about how i was feeling. No problems found.
I just had one a couple of weeks ago. I was going to have the one without the CT scan, but after a half hour or so they couldn’t get a good enough picture for the one at rest, so they sent me home and I had to reschedule the other kind, in which I would have a resting CT and then the meds and another CT.
Nothing really hurt, but ikept thinking I would have some kind of problem during the test. It was uncomfortable. The medicine gave me a headache and I felt sick to my stomach, but those feelings were all gone after 20 minutes or so. After the medication they couldn’t get a good picture because my intestine was in the way, so I had to drink a Sprite to see if it would move the intestine out of the way, and luckily it did.
No treadmill at all for either test, which was good.my lungs would give out before we got to the point where my heart was stressed enough for the test.
You should be fine, but if something does happen, it probably would have happened sooner or later, and what better place to have it? I’m very brave like that now that I’m done with mine!
Looks like everyone else here has addressed your concerns on what the test is going to be like, so let me address your concerns on the safety issue. I’ve done over 10,000 of these tests, both chemical and exercise, over the last 15 years or so and the chemical stress test is *very *safe. We’ve never had a serious problem while simulating stress with a chemical (knock on wood) though we occasionally have some serious problems on the treadmill. The medication they use essentially dilates your blood vessels and increases blood flow to the heart muscle, as opposed to making the heart work harder or pump faster. Some people don’t feel it at all and some people feel horrible but those are the extremes, most people feel some mild side effects like shortness of breath, chest pressure, flushing, etc, all of which pass quickly.
There are some risks associated with using these medications. One is that they can lower your blood pressure precipitously. Some can also slow down your heart rate precipitously, by blocking electrical conduction through the AV node (generally only if you have a pre-existing condition called heart block). Both of these conditions are easily reversible, though, and *very *rare.
Good luck with your operation, let me know if you have any more concerns!
Had a Myocardial perfusion scan done just this morning, with the chemical stress test being part of the procedure.
After settling myself on the bed, they stuck a cannula in my arm, hooked me to a heart monitor, fitted a BP cuff and fired the up the machine that pumped the drugs into me. Can’t remember the name of the drug they used but, looking at my patient guide, it was likely either Adenoscan or Dobutamine.
The drug got pumped in me for six minutes with the peeps in the room asking how I was doing fairly often. Took maybe 30 seconds to a minute for any effect to kick in, which in my case involved feeling slightly flushed and a kind of indigestion sensation that radiated to my neck and jaw. After the six minutes were up, the alarm on the pump went off and I felt better within a minute. Oh, while I recall, before starting anything they advised me to waggle my feet during the test because (I was told) that can lessen any negative effect while the drug is pumped in.
I wouldn’t describe the experience as fun, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and sucked far less than the treadmill test I had a month or so back.
I hate to be the naysayer, but my experience was horrible.
Maybe because I wasn’t warned, but wow - I really thought I was having a major heart attack and started to panic.
I has been several years, but all I can tell you is that I never want to go through that again - and yes, it did hurt*!
My current doctor said I should probably get one again in the next year or so - and I will most certainly NOT do a chemical one this time around.
*I do not consider myself a wimp with any medical procedures and have never complained about anything medical-test-related before or since.
Did the chemical a year or so ago. Now, I’m prone to anxiety attacks, and this sure kicked one in- it’s hard when your heart is pounding and there seems to be nothing you can do to stop it. This being said:
There was a nurse right there, talking to me throughout the entire thing, and letting me squeeze her hand when things got really panic-y, which helped a lot.
The chemical they used to stop the process? Dang, it worked fast! It was like, “Test is done. Inject. Everything is now fine.”
So, yeah, it was a little anxiety-inducing, but the relief afterwards was immediate.
Depends on the chemical being used to simulate stress.
I’ve not had a chemical stress test, just nuclear treadmill ones. But I used to supervise and interpret the chemical stress tests.
The dobutamine stress tests were the worst, IMHO. Pouring this adrenaline analogue into the patient to make the heart race, pushing more and more, trying to get it up to a pre-set target. They got jittery as hell. Lots of PVCs and interesting arrhythmias could occur.
Persantine stress tests weren’t quite so bad, but caused a lot of flushing and nausea, and on occasion some vomiting. Also sometimes some bronchospasm in folks who were inclined that way.
Adenosine stress tests were the best of the lot, generally the side-effects were minimal. On occasion the patient would get the sensation of ‘impending doom’.
I never lost a patient during the test, though! So hang on and enjoy the ride.
In reply to DMARK. thank God someone else felt like I did. I have been so worried. I had a 2 part test last Thurs and Fri, and I actually thought I was having a heart attack, I felt dreadful and was resigned that I was going to die.
I even asked if I was having a heart attack, the doctor, shook his head. I will never ever, go through that again. I had to have oxygen, then whatever other drug they gave me soon brought me back to normal, but no thanks!
I am no wussy either, but I have never felt so ill.I am glad that some others do not go through this, and I am glad I am not alone, I am completely traumatized.
I know this is an old thread but Iceni, don’t feel alone. Because walking is painful to me now, I had a chemical test. I’m sure I reached a stress level (heart beating out of control) I could never have hit by walking a treadmill. Scary and I think unnessary. Can’t they control the dosage better?
So I had a chemical stress test 3 days ago. Once she gave me the 1st injection I had horrible side effects, faintness, stomach pain/nausea, and feeling short of breath. After the 2nd injection it was so much worse. She could not get a blood pressure multiple times, my heart rate went to 50 and the caffeine didn’t help at all. She began giving me viles of an antidote and finally after the 3rd vial I began to feel better. My question is, I thought the chemical was to raise my heart rate but instead mine got even lower. Is that normal? I still haven’t gotten my results back.