EXERCISE STRESS TEST

[kkirsten]

Hi all, had my exercise stress test today. I firstly want to point out that I haven't properly exercised in years, yet have gone on very long walks, visiting shopping malls or going on small hikes in the country. Yet, in the past month or more I have experienced a throbbing/aching feeling all over the middle of my chest, which seems to coincide with feeling slower, harder palpitations, dry coughing and breathlessness. This is combined with a crushed, heavy pressure in my chest which has always been there, but feels worse recently.

I have had two 24 hr monitors, echocardiogram, blood tests (all so far have been normal). I cannot actually lie down flat or I feel runs of skipping beats or just generally a crushed chest and like I can't breathe at all. Yet no doctors have seen anything wrong yet (I am under the care of specialists, yet am confused as to how this is dysautonomia as it happens at rest without tachycardia).

Today I had a bicycle stress test, I managed to cycle at a steady medium pace for around 12 minutes, before I wanted to stop as I had bad aching in my chest, I could see my heart rate had been 150 for the entire duration, and felt like I could breath less so than normal, with a bit of a cough..

I wanted to know if anyone has suggestions, as I am at a total loss, everything is normal yet I don't entirely feel its just harmless Dysautonomia, as my problems seem very heart related in a bad way. For example, why would I be getting so much worse; more pain, more breathlessness? Can it just be severe lack of fitness? Seems odd though

[Guest KiminOrlando]

My breathlessness has to do with the oxygen exchange in the lungs. The air gets in to the lungs fine, but it doesn't get processed and put in to the blood efficiently. Add to that fewer red blood cells and low BP, and it makes me very tired. I'm not technically anemic. Putting me on oxygen wouldn't help. I don't know what controls the process of pulling O2 from air and putting it in blood, but it keeps declining in me. I don't have asthma or any obstructive pulmonary disease.  I do have the cough. 

Have you seen a Pulmonologist and had pulmonary functions testing?

[Pistol]

@kkirsten - when you get a stress test the goal is to get your HR up to what would be the accurate EXERCISE HR for your age -- mine is 150"s. And they want to see you sustain it and they WANT you to exert yourself - getting short-of-breath is the desired reaction and it is normal. Problems occur when you get these symptoms when you DO NOT exert yourself - simply by the act of standing up.  When you get a stress test they are looking if you are developing any arrhythmias or changes in your EKG - tht would show if there is any damage in your heart muscle or if your heart behaves abnormally when put under stress. 

[kkirsten]

On 4/25/2019 at 11:20 PM, Pistol said:

@kkirsten - when you get a stress test the goal is to get your HR up to what would be the accurate EXERCISE HR for your age -- mine is 150"s. And they want to see you sustain it and they WANT you to exert yourself - getting short-of-breath is the desired reaction and it is normal. Problems occur when you get these symptoms when you DO NOT exert yourself - simply by the act of standing up.  When you get a stress test they are looking if you are developing any arrhythmias or changes in your EKG - tht would show if there is any damage in your heart muscle or if your heart behaves abnormally when put under stress. 

I get symptoms without standing up sometimes, just at rest

[kkirsten]

On 4/25/2019 at 10:06 PM, KiminOrlando said:

My breathlessness has to do with the oxygen exchange in the lungs. The air gets in to the lungs fine, but it doesn't get processed and put in to the blood efficiently. Add to that fewer red blood cells and low BP, and it makes me very tired. I'm not technically anemic. Putting me on oxygen wouldn't help. I don't know what controls the process of pulling O2 from air and putting it in blood, but it keeps declining in me. I don't have asthma or any obstructive pulmonary disease.  I do have the cough. 

Have you seen a Pulmonologist and had pulmonary functions testing?

I am having Lung Function Testing done in about 2 months, so have to carry on until then with this! I don't notice any HR or BP changes, just coughing and chest aching/tightness