Stress test

Groundpounder

Groundpounder

En-Route
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
2,951
Location
New Hampshire
Display Name
Display name:
Emerson Bigguns
Doing a nuclear stress test Monday. Any tips or suggestions for making it less miserable than I think it is going to be?
 
It did not kill me, but in my mind I thought it would. I did the intravenous pharmacological stimulation and had mild anxiety when my heart rate shot up.

But the nurse attending me saw that and did her best to calm me down. Then it was over.

Thinking back the inserting of the needle was the worst part for me.

Edit: The best part was finding out the stent that was put in me was working great.!!
 
I gotta do the treadmill. I work out twice a week, but the treadmill is my nemesis, and I am not a runner.
 
I did a nuclear stress test years ago and one angiogram later it turned out the nuclear test was a false positive. From what I have read this is fairly common with the nuclear test. I assume there is a reason you can't do an echo stress or a regular stress test?
 
DFH65 said:
I did a nuclear stress test years ago and one angiogram later it turned out the nuclear test was a false positive. From what I have read this is fairly common with the nuclear test. I assume there is a reason you can't do an echo stress or a regular stress test?
Click to expand...

I don't want to go into details, but my Dr said this was the best test to do.
 
Groundpounder said:
I don't want to go into details, but my Dr said this was the best test to do.
Click to expand...

If it's in relation to getting a medical, did your AME give you a heart rate target? A few years back when I got my SI, Dr Bruce gave me a target HR I needed to hit, and hit it I did. But it sure sucked.
 
The target is your max heart rate or some percentage of it typically 220 - your age on the Bruce protocol the FAA wants to see 9 minutes. If you are on Basic Med then it doesn't really matter but the 9 minutes while not a stroll through the park is not the end of the world.
 
I did a nuclear stress test 6 years ago. There is nothing to fear or have anxiety over it. A nurse was monitoring me the whole time. The nurse explained everything and what to expect. My heart rate increased and I had a slight headache, but that was it. It was easy and nothing to worry about.
 
Look through previous posts on the subject, there is a minimum number of minutes you want to get to for your FAA medical. I believe it is 9 minutes, but not sure. Obviously don't power through chest pains to get there. There are posts in history here where Dr. B gives his learned opinion from an FAA view point. Make sure your doctor knows you are a pilot and are concerned about flying privileges. Health first obviously, but it's good to let them know ahead of time. You'll need all the traces and will probably have to submit them for your next medical, if you are getting one. So make sure they know that and ask them for them at the test so they don't get tossed after the report is done.


The test itself is not a big deal, it's basically a fast walk at increasing grade, unless you are superman you'll get to your max heartrate. You'll be radioactive for about a day or so after, lol, so make sure your aim is good, if you know what I mean. They'll give you all the info.

I hope everything turns out ok, take good care of yourself. Think positive.
 
Groundpounder said:
Doing a nuclear stress test Monday. Any tips or suggestions for making it less miserable than I think it is going to be?
Click to expand...

Well, I've never had a nuclear stress test done, but I've had an echo stress test done. Have also had an Angiogram (Cardiac Catheterization), where they snake a catheter up the artery in your wrist to your heart, and inject dye while they X-ray you. Have also recently had a CT scan where they pump a radioactive dye into your vein while X-raying you.

I imagine putting those tests together would be like a nuclear stress test.

The first thing that pops into my mind is "what exactly are you stressed about?"

Exactly what part of it do you think will be miserable?

If it's the stress test that worries you, I would say it's not bad at all. Basically you walk on a tread mill at ever increasing difficulty until you hit the target heart rate. You are constantly monitored, and you can stop at any time if it becomes unbearable. I was able to hit the target rate fairly easily. The tougher part was my legs got tired!
If the injection part of it is worrisome, I didn't find either of my tests that involved that to be any worse that when you give blood.

So yeah, not to be too personal or anything, but exactly what part of the test are you thinking will be miserable? I think if you address the specifics, you will fair much better.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

Bottom though...you'll do fine! I know, easy for me to say, but I know from a lot of experience, as I think we all have, that the mind tends to make things out worse than they turn out to be.

Good luck, but I bet you'll do fine!
 
Jeff Szlauko said:
Well, I've never had a nuclear stress test done, but I've had an echo stress test done. Have also had an Angiogram (Cardiac Catheterization), where they snake a catheter up the artery in your wrist to your heart, and inject dye while they X-ray you. Have also recently had a CT scan where they pump a radioactive dye into your vein while X-raying you.

I imagine putting those tests together would be like a nuclear stress test.

The first thing that pops into my mind is "what exactly are you stressed about?"

Exactly what part of it do you think will be miserable?

If it's the stress test that worries you, I would say it's not bad at all. Basically you walk on a tread mill at ever increasing difficulty until you hit the target heart rate. You are constantly monitored, and you can stop at any time if it becomes unbearable. I was able to hit the target rate fairly easily. The tougher part was my legs got tired!
If the injection part of it is worrisome, I didn't find either of my tests that involved that to be any worse that when you give blood.

So yeah, not to be too personal or anything, but exactly what part of the test are you thinking will be miserable? I think if you address the specifics, you will fair much better.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

Bottom though...you'll do fine! I know, easy for me to say, but I know from a lot of experience, as I think we all have, that the mind tends to make things out worse than they turn out to be.

Good luck, but I bet you'll do fine!
Click to expand...

He's dreading bad news, hopefully it will be fine.
 
Don’t even think about “running”...a brisk walk is all that is necessary to reach target heart rate.
 
Jeff Szlauko said:
Well, I've never had a nuclear stress test done, but I've had an echo stress test done. Have also had an Angiogram (Cardiac Catheterization), where they snake a catheter up the artery in your wrist to your heart, and inject dye while they X-ray you. Have also recently had a CT scan where they pump a radioactive dye into your vein while X-raying you.

I imagine putting those tests together would be like a nuclear stress test.

The first thing that pops into my mind is "what exactly are you stressed about?"

Exactly what part of it do you think will be miserable?

If it's the stress test that worries you, I would say it's not bad at all. Basically you walk on a tread mill at ever increasing difficulty until you hit the target heart rate. You are constantly monitored, and you can stop at any time if it becomes unbearable. I was able to hit the target rate fairly easily. The tougher part was my legs got tired!
If the injection part of it is worrisome, I didn't find either of my tests that involved that to be any worse that when you give blood.

So yeah, not to be too personal or anything, but exactly what part of the test are you thinking will be miserable? I think if you address the specifics, you will fair much better.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

Bottom though...you'll do fine! I know, easy for me to say, but I know from a lot of experience, as I think we all have, that the mind tends to make things out worse than they turn out to be.

Good luck, but I bet you'll do fine!
Click to expand...

I did some math, and what I think will be my target heart rate will be very hard to get to, IMHO. I rarely see it at the gym. I think trying to get there is going to be the miserable part. Also, not being able to eat anything or have any coffee before the test is going to be miserable as well, I'm not going to be in the mood for running in the least. And there is the very slight chance of having bad news delivered, but I think that is highly unlikely.
 
Last year I went through some testing to be a possible kidney donor. You will get tested to death and learn a lot of things about your body if you ever decide to do this.

Don't stress over the stress test.
 
Did my test this morning. Worst part was no coffee and having to exercise on an empty stomach. Only had to go to 90% of max heart rate, so it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. Second worst part was having a smoke show for a nurse and I have to sit there with my shirt off and man tits flopping everywhere in front of her. Oh well....
 
Lol, now you have to wait, to he worst part, but not as bad as when they bring a stretcher.
 
Groundpounder said:
Got my results back, perfectly normal. Guess that is good, but it feels like a big waste of time and money.
Click to expand...

Awesome Groundpounder. Seems like a waste of money, but once that door opens it's better to find out what's up. Get the traces and the report for your next medical.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top