Treadmill cardiac stress test

[FuzzyPuffling]

I am booked to have one of these soon, after several months if other cardiac tests.

My heart is misbehaving in a few different ways, so the cardiologist already knows what is wrong with it, so this is not fir diagnostic reasons. It's to assess my risk factor...of suddenly dropping dead!!

Hence I am more than a little anxious.

How will they ensure I don't cark it? What kind of stress will they be putting on me? Will I actually survive?

Experiences please.

From what I remember of mine, I was a bit freaked out too..I got them to talk me through it first, and I was told to tell them how I was feeling as it went along . They didn't increase the gradient / speed unless I said it was and my rhythm was normal . When I felt dizzy they just stopped it ..it didn't seem to last very long and they took my blood pressure before, after and several times throughout .

Oh then they took time seeing how long it took my heart rate to recover . It seemed to me that they weren't looking to push me over the edge if that reassures you !

In Australia. I've had two. The first was the light running on the treadmill - I struggled and complained the whole time. I didn't care. That was "inconclusive" so then I had one a few weeks later where you lie on a bed, they inject you with something and you you feel like you're running up a hill even though you're lying flat( heart pumps and you start panting). My blood pressure did go very high but I took my BP pill straight after ( couldn't take it before).
It's a strange sensation but I was monitored by a doctor and nurse the entire time. My heart is fine.

I’ve had one on a bike but similar thing.

They take your blood pressure and heart rate throughout. They attach probes to your chest and a mask to show your oxygen intake etc during the test,and then they gradually up the difficulty level of the run/cycle. They will encourage you to get to your limit but they won’t allow you to go over.

If it helps he said to me that most people give up before they reach the limit they probably could, although he did say he could see I had pushed myself as far as he could see I feasibly could go.

He said it is important to keep going to your limit because that way they get an accurate result.

I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and genuinely am at risk of sudden cardiac death and have in fact already had a cardiac arrest, although I have an ICD to mitigate against that. My stress test was in order to essentially see what my outputs were to partly assess my suitability for the transplant list.

Fortunately due to my meds and various other factors I am stil hovering outside the list, but as I am ineligible for any other treatments, when the time comes, transplant is my only option for a long-term future (although I’m hoping the longer I can stay well the less likely I might have to go there. Wishful thinking perhaps?)

It’s all done in very controlled circumstances.

Thank you very much, all of you, for your stories.
Were you all fine to drive afterwards? I have a 45 mile drive home ☹️

I can't remember if I drove home to be honest.
Call them and ask - they'll tell you if you shouldn't drive after.

Hmmm, I have no choice but to drive. There's no public transport here. I shall hope my recovery is speedy!

Another qu...can I keep my bra on? I don't fancy running anywhere without one!