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June 11, 2005
An Interesting Experience (Cardiac Stress Test)
I underwent a cardiac stress test this week complete with echocardiogram. Symptoms of heart disease in women can be sometimes hard to detect. It's better to be safe than sorry.
The first test was the echocardiogram. This test hooks you up to a machince that takes pictures of your heart much the same way your obstetrician takes pictures of babies in utero. It was fascinating to see pictures of my own heart in action. The heart moves around a lot is working constantly. The valves are very thin and floppy pieces of tissue. My father (now deceased) had coronary artery disease and it made me wonder if he ever saw his own heart in this way. Does my heart looked like his? Is this his legacy to me? It was surprisingly moving.
Next came the cardiolite test. First they had to put in an IV. I've never had this done, and being small veined, it was difficult for the technician to find a place that would work.
Next they put me on a treadmill and I had to walk in three increasingly difficult stages through the test. I had images of Nick Nolte hooked up to all kinds of wires and pipes just about killing himself trying to prove that he was healthy. Later that year he was arrested on drunk driving charges--giving up alcohol, Nick, might improve your health more than a diet of herbs and supplements.
Once my heart rate was up, they injected the cardiolite, a radioactive tracer that would fascilitate them taking pictures of blood flow to my heart. They had me lay on a narrow table, facedown, that looked like an open MRI machine. I wasn't allowed to move for 11 minutes while the device took the pictures it needed. This was probably the most pleasant part of the experience and I could have stayed there and rested longer.
I'm told the injected tracer delivers radiation equivalent to a chest X-ray or MRI scan. Eating draws the tracer to the gall bladder where it leaves the body during normal digestive functioning.
Perliminary findings show that I am healthy. I'll get more information during my follow-up with my doctor.
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Posted by linda at June 11, 2005 9:55 AM
