Re: Stress Test - worth the effort?



David Rind wrote:

>
> A stress test without any imaging doesn't have much value in someone
> with known coronary heart disease who is having their classic angina.
> However if done with radionuclide imaging (for instance, thallium stress
> test) it can give a sense of how much and what parts of the heart are at
> risk from inadequate blood flow and that can help guide management.

Could you elaborate on that a bit David as this is what I am not sure about.
Either way I need the angiogram and angioplasty, so am wondering what change
in management could result from the stress test. What will it show that the
angio will not?

The last Thallium test I had (about 9 years ago) was inconclusive as the guy
cut the test short because I was in such pain (I told him before the test
that it was a waste of time, but went along with it :-( ) and the ***
still tried (unsuccessfully) to charge me for the test even though he stuffed
it up!!

>
> The risk of a heart attack during a stress test is very small.

I guess you know, but when my arm is aching and paining like mad, I can
hardly breathe - gasping for breath, and my chest feels like an elephant is
sitting on it, it FEELS like a heart attack is about happen.

Thanks for the reply

David

>
>
> --
> David Rind
> drind@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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