I had a stress test at my cardiologist today. As many of you know from my prior posts, my blood pressure readings have been running higher than I would like. I log them 2-3x a day and have been for 5+ months now as my ID doc suggested.
My typical blood pressure reading is in the high 140/mid 90 range, but I've had some readings hit 170+ / 100+ on bad days and at best usually 130/mid 80s. I showed my cardiologist all these readings and he said they were just fine and had little concern. I'm in my mid 30s. He said he has many patients with worse readings. OMG. BUT are they 70+ years old? Know what I mean?
I told him about the intense pressure I get in my shoulders when trying to walk. He ordered a stress test. I haven't had one in 2 years. My last two stress tests were the chemical-induced types. This was a normal treadmill one.
Well, today I do this test and wow I felt horrendous. Prior to going on the treadmill, the PA took my BP and it was 145/90. I couldn't last 4-5 minutes on this thing. My legs got like lead. I never broke a sweat, but got very weak. Within 2 minutes, my BP shot to 170/108. By 3-4 minutes, it was 190/118. They stopped the test 1 min later after injecting the dye they needed to do my scans. My hands were literally ICE COLD.
I'm very out of shape, but is it even possible to not have an issue and have a BP shoot up this dramatically when not breaking a sweat? This is the same reaction I had when trying to do a pulmonary function stress test 1 yr ago on a stationary bike. I was too weak to move on with it and my BP rose too quickly.
The office said stress tests are 95% accurate for diagnosing heart blockages. I won't have results of this test until next week. It scares me that I'm that missing 5% and that's why I can't do anything anymore. I tried walking with my wife at the park for a few today and had to stop quickly due to intense pressure again in my left shoulders on top.
It seems like my muscles don't get the oxygen they need to do activity. My former cardiologist said to just keep exercising to get stronger. I'm afraid if my BP jumped to 190/118 that fast, what the hell would it go to if I did anything real? At some point, it'll kill you, correct?
What on Earth am I missing here? I'm scared.
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
You are not alone, when I was 39 I had this test done the first time.. My results came back abnormal. I had the same sort of thing you are having. They thought I had a form of Cardiac ischemia. I was sent to a cardiologist who diagnosed hyper dynamic circulation. It's all Lyme related.. Though I had no idea at the time. They put me on Beta Blockers for the next 8 years, until I figured out that I was severely deficient in Magnesium. Now I take Mag Citrate and CoQ10 and my heart and BP are totally fine.
Posted by JohnnyCalifornia (Member # 31937) on :
Wow, great response, lululymemom. I have the exact same issues as the OP and have been taking Magnesium Citrate occasionally, but adding CoQ10 sounds like a good idea.
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
Good for you Johnny, this illness robs us of the necessary magnesium that we need to sustain a healthy heart rhythm.. Adding the CoQ10 just made it all that much healthier..
The relationship between coenzyme q10 and heart health can be summed up in one sentence � Every muscle in the body, particularly the heart, the muscle that has most demand for coenzyme q10, cannot function without this vitamin, which is vital for life itself.
Though it can be an important cofactor in the smooth running of cardiovascular function, it is not stressed enough in the opinion of many conscientious doctors, who have seen a coenzyme q10 deficiency in their patients when treating serious heart conditions.
In double blind trials, patients who were given 60mg of coq10 twice a day along with their antihypertensive drugs, had a reduction in systolic and diastolic pressure.
Of course it is also important to do some cardio every day as well, even if it's 5 min. jogging on the spot or walking to start..
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Seek,
I know with hubby that babesia treatment made a huge difference. Back in 2004 I think it was hubby did a regular treadmill stress test. He was able to get through it, but it greatly exacerbated his tremors. And his blood pressure would not return to normal. I can't remember if we waited an extra 15 or 20 minutes or if it was even longer.
Anyway it was still elevated when we left the hospital and then he had one of his seizure-like spells and collapsed in the parking lot on the way to the car. I gave him the IV Ativan which we were using at the time and some IV glutathione and we went to lunch. At the restaurant he went to the bathroom and then got lost wondering around the restaurant looking for me for 5 or 10 minutes.
This was before we had ever done a SPECT scan. I think he was on heparin for hypercoagulation at the time.
But the amazing thing is that just a couple of months later after he tried the low dose quinine and clindamycin for babesia he started exercising again and was walking a mile or so daily and even doing 50 or 100 pushups.
I definitely would not rule out babesia as a possible cause of your exercise intolerance and also contributing to the blood pressure issues.
Bea Seibert
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
The Mg and CoQ10 are both really good suggestions!
I had to have a stress test 2 wks ago after ending up in the ER with chest pain. By the time I got to the test I was so nauseated that I was not able to get on the treadmill at all. I could barely walk.
I hate that test! I hate the &^%$ they put in your veins and then having to be scanned for 15 min each time while lying completely still. I can't believe I made it through all the testing that day. It was like torture.
(and that was WITH Zofran)
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
Something does seem wrong if your BP rises that much upon exertion. Did you meet your target pulse rate during the stress test?
I'll assume by the 'dye' and scans you had a nuclear stress test? If so, they are okay when needed, but just keep in mind they do give you a decent amount of radiation. I had one about 6 years ago, and if I knew about the radiation doses, I would have passed on it. My current cardiologist prefers echo stress tests instead... no dye, no radiation.
Another option for testing is calcium scoring. Not to be mistaken for a CT scan (a lot of radiation), it's about the equivalent to 5-10 xrays (not so much really). High calcium scores are correlated to increased risk of heart disease, so it can be useful as a diagnostic test. However, not all insurances pay for it and a lot of places don't even do it, as it's not a money-maker for them.
All I can suggest is load up on Ubiquinol/CoQ10 + mag, or try other supplements and see if it lowers your BP some. Losing weight would help some (cut down carbs, try going wheat-free for a while). Or find another doctor who will either give you an ace inhibitor or beta blocker, which to be honest, I'm sort of amazed no doctor has done already.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lemon-Lyme: Or find another doctor who will either give you an ace inhibitor or beta blocker, which to be honest, I'm sort of amazed no doctor has done already.
- also amazed
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
i had the same test. only i did fine. i was a little winded but stayed at 12 minutes and did the fastest rate. they finally turned it off.
however, i flunked the gel type test thingy. where they run the tube over your heart and it shows the picture. well mine is really enlarged. don't know what it's called.
my bp has been running low 120-130's or so over 90-120 or so. it's been as high as 200 over 180 that was in the er tho and i got attention real fast.
so they've increased my diovan and said loose weight, exercise. they don't seem concerned tho.
Posted by Laura_W (Member # 31491) on :
randibear- thats an echo cardio gram
Seek- for the stress test to be the most accurate your heart rate (pulse) had to reach a certain target level... which is different for every person. Do you know if you made it high enough?
I know your blood pressure went way high, but did your pulse?
If your pulse did as well, then you are more likely to get an accurate test.
If you didn't make the target heart rate then the image part of the test will not be as accurate... the amount of accuracy depends on how close you were to target.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Laura, yes I made it to the target heart rate level of 155 (barely). I'm thankful it did as I want an accurate test badly.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I tried walking with my wife at the park for a few today and had to stop quickly due to intense pressure again in my left shoulders on top.