Stressed About the Stress Test

(no, not really ...)

And here we are again. You know, I think I need to visit more often and just tell you all about my normal days, not only about days when I visit “that” place. You know, the place where they wear scrubs. I need to tell people that we, people with FH, do have a life, a real one that doesn’t involve tests and drugs and IV’s and all … I think I’ll make that pledge now, and if I bore you to tears with my other, “normal” life, shout out, and I’ll change the tune …

But anyway, today was one of “those” days. The PA that I saw a couple of weeks ago, or so, asked that I repeat the heart eco they did last year, just to check on this leaking valve and its progress. Since last year was the first time they found it, they used that as the baseline and they need to understand how fast it’s getting worse, because, as they “promised” me, it will get worse. So, they needed to repeat that this year – if the progress (or regress) is slow, then, they’ll do this every two years or even further apart. They also wanted to repeat the stress test, which I normally get done every two years, and it was time for that.

Every time I go in for these things I am thinking: “someone has an ex-wife they need to pay off or a boat payment that’s due”. But let’s not be cynical, shall we, I am sure this is all helpful, and I am grateful for health insurance.

I am not going to find out the eco results till some time later since they need to be read by the radiology doctor and then sent to my cardiologist – both in the same clinic though – I have an appointment next week for that. The stress test, however, was performed by my heart doctor’s PA (the one who said no to Diovan), so she read it to me today.

She said “I flunk it”! Everything was fine, till I got my heart rate at around 152 and I started choking up. My chest was heavy, not so much painful, but heavy and I was out of breath, and my neck was clutching on me. I felt like there was no air going through from my nose to my lungs. I had to get my heart rate to 166, according to the literature she had there, so she would not stop the treadmill till I reached that … I was exhausted and completely out of breath by the time I was done. The discomfort in my chest was about a six on a scale from 1 to 10, I’d say. Like I said, it was not pain, or pressure, but more like a tightness. And a massive, out of control, blinding migraine, too!

She read the paper that comes out of the machine and she also said it doesn’t look good, because my heart doesn’t come back “to baseline” when I exercise. It tries, but it doesn’t make it back to the same spot it was a beat earlier.

She called in the doctor, and he said I need to have (you guessed it!) yet another test: a thallium (nuclear) stress test which will show him more precisely what is going on inside of my heart – is it a blockage and where, or is it my valve that’s causing the pain/ discomfort?! In NC, I had this done twice. Given my history, my doctor there felt like a “simple” (non-nuclear/ non-thallium) test, the kind I had done today, would not tell him much, so he always went for the more “advanced” once. I guess the doctor here is still learning?!

Anyway, another test we schedule. And if that one comes out all inconclusive or bad, then we go in again for an angiogram. Fun-fun!

I have felt OK lately, heart-wise, although my pulse is very accelerated. I am going to switch to decaf in the morning for a while and see if that helps. My headaches is what has driven me crazy lately, though: they have been more severe than usual and almost constant, with no break between days. It’s been kind of a pain (pun intended).

I am seriously thinking I must re-start yoga again, too – I must seriously get in the habit of that, again, with no more excuses! I feel rusty … We walk some, but not consistently, which is a shame. I would not call myself a real couch potato though, because between cleaning two levels of a house twice a week and cooking every night and running errands at lunch and sitting down at 8.30 PM every night for the day, I am moving a lot. But I need more! More consistency and a regimen! Looking for a treadmill for this winter! Cannot wait!! And the fact that we enter comfort food season is not very helpful, health-wise, either. Must work extra hard to compensate.