Getting Norepinephrine Levels Tested

[SeattleRain]

Is this done in combination with a TTT? And if so, do they always go hand in hand or do you have to ask your doctor to include this in the test?

Thank you

[Guest Alex]

Hi Seattle,

I had this done during the TTT, but also as a separate procedure at a later time. I did not have to ask my dr for this, it was "standard procedure" for the TTT in my case. The 2nd time around it was my dr who suggested I should have this test done as I was experiencing some spikes in BP so he wanted to rule out a possible pheochromocytoma. My understanding is that they tested my norepi levels during the TTT in order to check for hyper POTS (which I don't have).

Apparently different hospitals/clinics have different protocols for the TTT, so you might want to check with your dr.

I hope this helps.

Good luck

Alex

[jpjd59]

My daughter's first TTT was through her cardiologist, which did not include testing of NE levels. Her second TTT was done at the Mayo and this was included in their process.

Pam

[cmreber]

I think I had both tests done the same day at Mayo, but not at the same time. For the NE they had me lay down in a dark quiet room for a long time, then drew my blood. Then I had to stand for a specific amount of time and they drew again. At least, I'm pretty sure this is how it went. During the TTT they did the sweat test, valsalva testing (with this breathing tube), and monitored hear trate and blood pressure contantly throughout; they didn't draw any blood at that time.