The basic stress test is so low tech that I think it should be used for anyone over 50 as part of routine screening.
We are talking a treadmill, an EKG and a BP cuff.

I question the use of the thallium test if the treadmill test shows nothing - that is expensive imaging equipment and people with false positives (about 1 in 10) go for a more expensive invasive catheterization.

My test was done due to short term ongoing chest pain which I correclty attributed to reflux

Never had a thallium test. I had a regular stress test a little over a year ago. Thanks to my knee surgery I had to do the test on the bicycle -- no treadmill. :beer:

Not all agree

http://www.creators.com/health/david...ress-test.html

Checking for Heart Disease? Experts: Skip the Stress Test


I often see patients who, despite being asymptomatic, have annual exercise stress tests to screen for heart disease. If the result is positive, an angioplasty is often done. Needless to say, stress testing is even more frequently performed in symptomatic patients to monitor progress.
More and more information indicates that this is inappropriate. New information released in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders found that using treadmill stress tests following an angioplasty had no value in determining if the implanted stent remained open. This further confirms the recommendation of the American Heart Association and the United States preventative task force that stress tests not be performed to routinely screen for heart disease.
In the long term, there is little evidence to support the value of stress testing in asymptomatic individuals or stable patients with proven heart disease. A groundbreaking report from the New England Journal of Medicine showed that in more than 2,000 symptomatic stable patients, an angioplasty offered no advantages over ideal medical management. Simply put, angioplasty did not reduce the risks of death or a recurrent heart attack.
Information is accumulating that a large fraction of angioplasties and even open-heart surgery are unnecessary and could be avoided. The older you are, the more likely this is to be the case. And yet, increasing numbers of invasive cardiac procedures are occurring in people 75 and older, in whom risks of side effects are substantially increased.
So what should be done to screen and treat heart disease? First, you must recognize that everyone over 50 is at risk of developing coronary artery disease. In addition, other risk factors include a strong family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, a high-fat diet and a sedentary lifestyle. Increases in an amino acid in the blood called homocysteine and evidence of inflammation by finding an elevation of C reactive protein are also risk factors.
The best approach to heart disease is to make sure that as many of these risk factors as possible are removed either by medical treatment or lifestyle changes.

From age 50 onward, an annual medical checkup and an EKG every couple of years should be done. Screening for high blood pressure should be done annually at a much younger age, and cholesterol should be measured every five years from age 30 onward.

A routine stress test should be limited to those who require it for occupational purposes (such as an airline pilot) or when evaluating an individual with numerous risk factors. A stress test should be done if new symptoms develop that suggest coronary artery disease. These include atypical chest pain, increased shortness of breath and palpitations. In this case, the stress test can help make or exclude the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. If positive, an angiogram may be needed to identify the extent of the problem and determine if coronary artery bypass surgery or an angioplasty is needed

Easy peasy had many of them after surgery in 96 until now. Takes several hours they inject you, lay you down for 22 minutes without moving while a camera circles your chest. They put you on a treadmill and get your heart rate where they want it, inject while you are still on the treadmill back to the camera for another 22 minute picture taking bout. Then they compare pictures to see if there is a lot more blue after exercise which would indicate lack of blood flow to the heart.
The whole thing takes about 3 hours.

If you aren't in good enough shape to do the treadmill then they use a chemical to increase your heart rate, this is somewhat less than desirable from what I have heard.
Good luck with the results.

Allen

well the results are in.... drum roll please..... I'm alive. well I knew that. still having issue with breathing deeply. so am on a round of steroids. heart is ok. lungs are ok. doc can't figure out what is going on soooo... will be visiting the pulmonary lab friday. probably just overwhelmed by smog. I'll try riding in the early morning hours and see if I can deal with that. I know I can't deal with not exercising. will see tomorrow. pray for freezing temperatures. :-) I could move to Canada. eh?

day 1 of steroids. nope muscles are not getting bigger, dang. though my head hurts. ugh. will be doing a round of 'roids to see if this clears up the lungs. must be a lubricant problem... :-) just kidding here. will see in a couple more days whether any changes arise. so far just the headache. oh and it still is uncomfortable with breathing deep. also decided not to ride just yet. too hot and smoggy.

I use TriFlow. What do you use? ;)

We're BACK! well sort of. rode this AM. hot 76 deg. sweat like a pig. will not be riding home this afternoon. Heat Index 98? nope not doing that. oh and the med's really helped. I can breathe deeply again. this is wonderful. at least I'm getting out on the bike again. so far so good.

heh. the predisone really fixed it.

Glad to hear it. :thumb:

Heat index??? I left for my ride at 10:45AM and the temp was only 74F. Thought about digging out the arm warmers. :lol:
The heat index right now (4:30PM) is only 88F. Much better than its been lately. :beer:

Glad to hear things are working out. The nuclear test is a PITA, but at least according to my doc, far more accurate than the EKG or a non-nuclear stress test. Now that you can breathe, sounds like you have the big green light!