The Stress Test

Today was my stress test. I've been having chest pains since the first of the month, and apparently checking out the ticker is the first thing doctors do when you hit middle age.

I had been stressing considerably over taking this stress test. I had one in 2001 for a similar problem. It came back fine, they never knew what the problem was, and I expect the same thing from today's results based on the reaction of the physician's assistant and the lab assistants giving the test.

Anyway, the test in 2001 nearly did me in. I weighed about 25 more pounds, I hadn't exercised in like, ever, and I was talking a beta blocker (which slows down your heart) for migraines.

When you take a stress test, you have to hit a particular heart rate and sustain it. When I took the test in 2001, not only was I out of shape, I couldn't hit the heart rate. They thought that was because of the beta blocker. So they kept me walking on the treadmill for a very long time. By the time we were done, I could hardly walk, my legs were so rubbery.

But this time around, I weigh less, and I've been exercising for at least a half hour nearly every day. The walk on the treadmill barely had me breathing hard and my heart rate hit its target in about five minutes and held there very nicely for an entire minute.

What was really cool, though, was the echocardiogram. This is a sonagram of your heart (like what they do to show a baby in a pregnant woman).

So this is how the visit went. First, the tech scared me by saying they might have to inject something in me if they couldn't see my heart well. I wanted no part of any injections and little tears began seeping out of my eyes. My husband was with me and he patted me on the arm and said, "You have to do whatever it takes to make sure you're alright. I love you."

Which of course, made me cry for real.

Then they made my husband leave and go to the waiting room. I would have preferred he stay, but I admit it would have been rather crowded.

Then it was undress time. Sexy hospital gown and all that. Then the hook-up to the EKG machine. I sat and watched the squiggly lines, not knowing, of course, what I was seeing. No red lights went off so that was a relief.

My blood pressure, though, was a little high, 124/96.

Then a resting echocardiogram. The tech could see my heart well and there was no need for injections, thankfully. I could see the valve of my heart fluttering, up and down, up and down. It was very cool.

Then she switched on the sound. Swwhooooshh hummm swwhoooshhh hummm swwwhhooooosh hummm is kind of what it sounded like.

After that, the walk on the treadmill. Immediately when it finished, you hope off the treadmill and onto the gurney so you can get another echocardiogram. I could see my heart going very fast and she hit the sound and there was a lot of sloshing and whooshing.

I lay there for just a few minutes. They took my blood pressure again and it had settled into a very good 110/70. "Boy, you were stressed out over this test, weren't you," one of the techs said.

The tech at the echocardiogram machine said the pictures were great and things looked clean, and the physician's assistant said to one of the techs that he didn't see anything and it all looked good to him. They aren't supposed to tell you anything but I swear I don't see how you could be human and not ease another's suffering and worry by saying something. The comments weren't directed at me but at each other but I felt a lot better for hearing that and I am sure they knew that.

I have to say, though, that this was a lot of concern (and expense, I am sure) and while I'm very glad to know I likely don't have a heart problem, I still don't know why I am having chest pains.

My plan now is to ignore them for a few days and hope they go away. If not, then we'll try something else.