Stress Echocardiogram

[balli hi]

Has anyone undergone a Stress Echocardiogram before ? , Its a procedure whereby your heart rate is speeded up with a drug called Dobutamine , given to you through an intavenous drip , they may also add a contrast agent to enhance the quality of the echo pictures .

Three weeks ago i had a test done where i was asked to run on a treadmill , electrodes were placed on my chest and back , the treadmill started off slowly , then steadily speeded up and raised to a steep incline , they keep you running on the treadmill untill your heartrate is quite high ( i think my heart rate went from approx 94 to 180, maybe 190 can't remember for sure )

After the treadmill test , i was seen by a consultant who read the results , it would seem that something was bugging him and he sought a second oppinion from a colleague , the outcome is , that i have been made an appointment to have the Stess Echocardiogram done .

If i'm being honest i have to say that i am getting cold feet and not sure i want to go through with it , i don't feel comfortable with the thought of having my heart rate speeded up with the use of a drug as there is the risk of possible complications ( although rare )

If anyone has any experience of a Stress Echocardiogram or knows someone who has had one done , i'd be gratefull for your input . Thanks in advance

[balli hi]

The sentance i have highlighted 4th from the bottom of the page is the bit that worries me

Cardiology Group

What is a stress echocardiogram?

A stress echocardiogram is a test that allows your health care provider to see how your heart muscle works both when you are resting and when your heart is stressed. The heart can be stressed with exercise. It can also be stressed with drugs that increase the heart rate or change the way blood flows through the coronary arteries.

Images of the beating heart are made by bouncing high-frequency (ultrasound) sound waves off the heart. A computer uses the echoes of the sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. All of the heart structures, including the heart muscle and heart valves, can be carefully examined.

When is it used?

Many people with heart problems have no symptoms when they are resting. Stressing the heart causes specific changes in that can be seen on the echocardiogram. Stress echocardiograms help your health care provider know if you need more cardiac tests and treatment.

Another type of stress test, a standard exercise treadmill test, uses only an electrocardiogram (ECG) to give information about the condition of the heart during stress. Sometimes standard treadmill tests give uncertain results. A stress echocardiogram can be a more accurate way to diagnose blockage in the arteries. For a stress echocardiogram, an echocardiogram is done along with an ECG to give information about the heart.

How do I prepare?

Usually no preparation is necessary. Your health care provider may ask you not to eat or drink anything for about 2 hours before the test. Ask your provider if you should avoid taking any medicines on the day of the test.

What happens during the procedure?

The test lasts 30 to 60 minutes. It can be done in a clinic, hospital, or your health care provider's office. A small needle may be placed in a vein in your arm. Your health care provider or a technologist will monitor your ECG and blood pressure while the echocardiogram is being done.

Your health care provider may ask you to walk on a treadmill for the echocardiogram. However, your provider may choose to use drugs instead of exercise to produce stress for your heart. Reasons for using drugs rather than exercise are:

You have a physical problem that prevents you from walking on a treadmill.

You have been taking medicine that won't allow your heart rate to increase enough for an exercise test to be useful.

When drugs are used to make your heart beat faster, the drug dobutamine is slowly dripped into your vein. A drug called atropine is sometimes given with the dobutamine to increase your heart rate. The amount of dobutamine is increased every 3 minutes until a target heart rate, based on your age, is reached. When you reach the target heart rate or when your health care provider decides you have had enough of the drug, the medicine is stopped and a final echocardiogram recorded.

What happens after the procedure?

After the test, you can go home and go back to your usual activities. Your health care provider will review the pictures, watching each part of the heart's muscle during the heartbeat. If there is a problem with blood supply to the heart, differences in the strength of contraction of heart muscle in different parts will show clearly.

What are the benefits?

A stress echocardiogram can show heart disease or problems with the heart valves. Your health care provider will use it to help decide your need for treatment or for more costly and riskier tests.

What are the risks?

On rare occasions, cardiac arrest may occur during the test. To ensure your safety, your health care provider will supervise the test. Your blood pressure and ECG will be watched carefully. The test team will watch for and be able to treat emergencies if they happen.

Minor side effects of the drugs are common. Dobutamine occasionally causes low blood pressure or nausea. It may cause or worsen irregular heart rhythms. Atropine may cause temporary dryness of your mouth and temporary blurred vision. Your health care provider and the test team are aware of these potential problems and can treat them if they occur.

[Bizarra]

No Thank You :o

[balli hi]

No Thank You :o

I take it , that you would'nt fancy it iether victor , i've got untill the 7th of september to confirm the appointment , i'm sure its a procedure that they have carried out a million times before , its just that small element of doubt thats putting me off .

My gp sent me along initially to eliminate the possibility of heart problems because he thought my chest pain was due to excess acid as i have been suffering from acid reflux for some time now, so the fact that something has shown up on the ECG came as abit of a shock

The consultant told me that my performance on the treadmill showed that i was fairly fit , however the machine recorded some minor blips ( palpitations ) , which he said was fairly normal for a lot of people , but owing to my family history he could not ignore it and therefore further investigation is required .... am i just being a wuss ????

[Bizarra]

No, you are not being a wuss

My ECGs are always ok, but I have high BP & a family history of it, so they haul me in twice yearly to give me the once over :(

If you have irregularities & you are in a relatively sedentary job, then I'd say - "Go for it"

As you said, they do this umpteen times every year & will monitor you throughout. It doesn't sound pleasant, but if you ignore it & something goes wrong that can be caught, now, it is better to do it than maybe not be allowed to drive & lose your livelihood.

At least you know what is going to happen. They brought me in for a scan, just the one where you are fed through a circle, not the tunnel. They told me that they were going to inject dye into my veins. They didn't tell me that I would feel as though I was on fire all over :( The dye was in & I was being fed through, so I decided that there was nothing I could do but hope it was correct. It was, they told me when I emerged at the end :D

Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck & keep us posted.

[Phoenix999]

Tony.... I would say :censor: off to having a drug put into me just so that a doctor could test my heart. Especially with a threat, minor or otherwise, of a cardiac arrest.

There has to be a safer way, there must be

[GIDDLEPIN]

If it meant finding an underlying problem............HELL YES!!!! pump the stuff in me

Had the treadmill thing and thought the pump was going to explode out of my chest :o

[balli hi]

Wel its judgement day tomorrow as i have decided to go through with it , fingers crossed all go's well , i'm not looking forward to it , its just a case of getting it over and done with , hopefully i'll be back on the forum tomorrow evening telling you all what a doddle it was .... PS , I :censor: hate needles

[hertsnminds]

Have a read of the little leaflet that comes with ANY prescription drug, take note of the possible side effects section and the "in rare cases" effects. If you were to read and believe that any or all of the side effects would happen to you, you would not take any prescribed medicine.

I agree going in for any test is going to be daunting, firstly just taking the test and secondly waiting for the result but the alternative is just having a medical condition hit you with no warning or way for you to avoid it. Think of not taking the stress test like driving with only forward vision, but if you take the test you get the benefit of side windows and rear view mirrors.

[GIDDLEPIN]

Hope everything went well by the time you read this

My turn to see the specialist on the 26th (I think) to find out the results of my MRI scan I know what the answer will be before I get there....."Well Mr Ackroyd I'm afraid your spine is knackered" I would like to reply "No shi* Sherlock" but it might not go down very well

[balli hi]

Hi guys

Had the test done and its out the way , the test lasted approx 1 hour and although not pleasant , was not an ordeal , the worst bits were when i could feel my heart thumping so hard and i had a few palpitations accompanied with slight pain , also when they increased the contrast agent for the third time i became really nauseous , but most of the pain was caused by the doctor , he pressed so hard with the ultrasound probe , that it won't surprise me if i wake up tomorrow with bruises all over my rib cage , apart from that its not so bad .

Aithough i was not given an explanation of what was seen on the ultrasound pictures , the doctor did say that he thought my chest pain was not being caused by my heart .......great news , the downside is that i'm gonna have to have more tests done to find out what is :(

Thanks by the way , Giddlepin for your kind thoughts , i hope your scan results work out fine , or not as bad as you fear .

Hertsnminds , your spot on of course , and i enjoyed reading your analogy All the best guys

[reece]

the doctor did say that he thought my chest pain was not being caused by my heart .......great news ,

Costochondritis