Posted on 07/15/2017 9:43:46 AM PDT by JimRed
I recommend that all FReepers who have not had a recent stress test have one performed.
I survived a heart attack in 2011 and have had twice-a-year follow up visits with my cardiologist. In May he scheduled me for a stress test as it had been years since I had one. He found anomalies in the display (lower blood supply to the heart muscle under stress than while at rest) and recommended a cardiac catheterization procedure. They found a new blockage and the old stent was blocked. They did the required repairs and I feel fine. God has been better to me than I deserve!
Fellow FReepers, if you have not done so, I suggest that you schedule yourself for a stress test, or at least an exam. I'd like to keep as many of you around as possible, for as long as possible!
Jim Red, how old are you if I may ask (range is ok)
Wow. How old are you if I can ask?
Will be 74 in October. WWII baby.
To each their own. My Father had one done and days later endured a massive heart attack. Died 3 months later.
47 years old.
Was this the neuveau chemically-induced stress test or the real deal sweat your ass off on a treadmill test?
Condolences on your loss. My dad died at my age, of a heart attack, but mom lived to 95. I was hoping I got her genes, but no such luck!
Running 5 miles and playing b-ball? Glad you’re on our side. ;^)
Treadmill. Except for the arthritic knee I function pretty well.
He was a very prolific man with great influence. Unfortunately health was not his strong suit.
A stress test is not good for everybody.
I would suggest a slow exercise program at the Y. to get started if your worried about your time on Earth.
OP is lucky, they generally go for the bypass first, then agioplasty from there on out.
Perhaps it wasn’t too severe or perhaps it was their age.
Next, the Y? Last time I went to the why I got ringworm. If you can afford it go to a nice clean professional Gym.
Don’t get me wrong, the Y’s are some great facilities in the good areas. Like Madam Ecke YMCA in Carlsbad California or the YMCA in La Jolla.
The reason I got the test at 51 (even though I look 32 and am as fit and healthy looking as well) is the people in my family who were obese or very much inactive and overweight had died suddenly in the last two years from heart attacks. They were siblings a decade older than me. So my primary felt this substantiated a family history of heart disease that I would not have been aware had these two passed. The good news is all my blood work (cholesterol etc) were exceptional great AND I am so fit my heart rate is very low because it is so well conditioned and efficient.
Yet. I still will be getting an echostress test to insure there are no other red flags. It also has allowed me to be more conscious of the amount of red meat and other high in saturated fat and cholesterol food are in my diet and to minimize them. It also solidifies just how important exercise and diet are as I age. As well as lowered stress levels.
Thanks again for sharing JimRed. Yours could be a life changing and saving post for many.
It’s also possible that, had you waited, you might have developed collateral circulation around the blocked vessel (angiogenesis), obviating the need for a stent (sometimes called “natural bypass”).
It’s also possible that, had you waited, you might have developed collateral circulation around the blocked vessel (angiogenesis), obviating the need for a stent (sometimes called “natural bypass”).
I’ve had the chemical test. That’s interesting.
I’m very glad that worked out well for you.
To each their own choices-I’ve heard stress tests are not the best thing for everyone-I’m sure it is not for me-I’m a believer in steady paced exercise. Here in BFE, anyone who retires seems to die within about 3-4 years, regardless of age or health-so just about all of us work a physical job in a one-or-two person business run from home after ditching that working for someone else thing. We tend to eat homegrown, unprocessed organic veggies and free range meat.
I only know two people who drink sodas-neither is overweight, but one has barely any un-rotted teeth from all that sugary s***, and the other one still chugs cola drinks all day instead of water, even though he has already lost his gallbladder and was asked to at least cut back.
Hiking is common out here, as is the use of natural remedies rather than drugs. The chiropractor in the town 20 miles away makes a good living off people out here...
Very few smoke or drink to excess, but most of us do on occasion-some of us have a workout routine-I’m one of those who does-as they say, all things in moderation...
That chemical stress test is nasty. The told me to swing my legs back and forth but once those chemicals got to my heart all I could do was just sit there waiting for it to be all over.
Viascan. We both had one done a few years ago. Full body scan much cheaper than dr ordered CT scan. Found out minor conditions to watch, put our mind at ease about blockage which was virtually nonexistent. Much more info.
“To each their own. My Father had one done and days later endured a massive heart attack. Died 3 months later.
47 years old.”
Nuclear stress tests are little better than nothing, but that’s about it: way too many false negatives and positives to rely on. Insurance likes them because they’re cheap compared to angiography, which is the ONLY reliable test.
https://www.google.com/search?q=nuclear+stress+test+false+negatives&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
If you’ve ever looked at the images produced by a nuclear stress test, you’d be shocked at the almost complete absence of any meaningful resolution.
I was having symptoms when a nuclear stress test showed zip; fortunately my cardiologist made a clinical decision to do an angiogram based on my family history and symptoms (and not the test result) and saved my life.
I had one of those chemical stress test and didn’t like it at all. Felt like somebody had taken control of my body.
I like the treadmill a lot better.
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