so how was it? or what is it? lol. exercise test? see if your heart can dig it? was it difficult?

I think you may be combining two different tests, KristyLynn. A stress test is the "exercise" test done on a treadmill (although it can be done by injecting chemicals, too, if the patients cannot tolerate the treadmill). It's an EKG done while the heart is beating very fast and strong.

An echo(cardiogram) is a sonogram (like you get when pregnant) of the heart. It's painless, although a little messy, since they use "gel" to boost the signal. It's done to check the pumping capacity of the heart, the valves....stuff like that.

I've never heard of a combination of the two.....but it's been awhile since I messed around with any of that stuff, so I guess maybe it's possible.

I had a stress echo - they do in fact combine the two and it is very common. You get a resting echo and then you hop on the treadmill for 10 minutes to get your heart rate up to near exhaustion (I think I was at 190 beats per minute) and quickly back on the table for another echo.

I have had two of these (thankfully both normal) in my life and to be honest - it is quite a workout. They progressively increase speed and incline to get your heart rate up and it is very exhausting. Think of it as a great workout !!

cool. I'm glad there are people on here that are more up-to-date than me. A long time ago, just the body artifact (breathing hard, rapid heartbeat) from a stress test would have produced a crappy-quality echo. Of course, that was several generations of tech prior to what there is now!

thank you guys! :confused_smile:

i had asked the surgeon what tests would be done and he said "eh.. stress echo and labs.." LoL..i was like.. huh?

so is that normal? or are there hidden tests? lol

I had a stress echo - they do in fact combine the two and it is very common. You get a resting echo and then you hop on the treadmill for 10 minutes to get your heart rate up to near exhaustion (I think I was at 190 beats per minute) and quickly back on the table for another echo.

I have had two of these (thankfully both normal) in my life and to be honest - it is quite a workout. They progressively increase speed and incline to get your heart rate up and it is very exhausting. Think of it as a great workout !!

I am scheduled for an echo stress test this coming Thursday morning at my cardiologist's office. I have had stress tests before where I walked on the treadmill, and also had an echo test for the valves in my heart. But this test IS a combination of the two with no treadmill involved. The nurse will inject me with a medication (dobutamine) through an IV while I am lying on a bed/table (?). This dobutamine will make my heart race as if I WAS walking on a treadmill, and the nurse and doctor will monitor my results...also being on standby JUST IN CASE! :rolleyes2: They don't let the heart race too long, so we should be okay. I have had one heart attack and a triple heart bypass, so I am a little gun shy when it comes to my heart. I hope this information helps you a little.

Susie

I am scheduled for an echo stress test this coming Thursday morning at my cardiologist's office. I have had stress tests before where I walked on the treadmill, and also had an echo test for the valves in my heart. But this test IS a combination of the two with no treadmill involved. The nurse will inject me with a medication (dobutamine) through an IV while I am lying on a bed/table (?). This dobutamine will make my heart race as if I WAS walking on a treadmill, and the nurse and doctor will monitor my results...also being on standby JUST IN CASE! They don't let the heart race too long, so we should be okay. I have had one heart attack and a triple heart bypass, so I am a little gun shy when it comes to my heart. I hope this information helps you a little.

Susie

I wish you luck toomuchsusie. Hope all goes well.:rolleyes2:

Thank you, froggi1985. I'm a little nervous about it, but I'm sure everything will go smoothly.

Susie

I'm sure things will go wonderfully.

let us know how it goes! <3