Stress Test

Becca and I drove to St. Petersburg yesterday for her stress test.  It seems crazy to me that she sees a cardiologist in a children's hospital that could have done the test with insurance covering the doctor but the hospital is out of the network.  The nearest place to have it done was 2 hrs. 40 min. away.  Insurance stressed that we couldn't see the doctor and have a consult it had to be the test only.  We were 15 min. early for our appointment but it took almost an hour to get it approved.  I know that our cardiologist's office had talked with them about it a few times as well.  

She was supposed to do the treadmill but neither of us thought anything about the shoes.  Her sandals were not appropriate and she ended up doing the bike test.

She rode for 8 min. 43 sec.  Her heart rate got up to 194.  They took her blood pressure before, during and after the test.  She was told to let them know when she only had 30 sec. left in her to ride, felt light-headed or if she felt any chest pain.  She let them know that she was ready to stop.  The guy above asked her if she could go for another 30 seconds.  She said, "More like 2 minutes," and continued pedaling.

She was escorted to a chair because her legs would feel like jelly.  While there, the first technician asked her some questions.  One of the questions he asked was, "Why did you stop?"  She said her legs felt tired.  He asked if she had any chest pain.  She replied, "Yes."  His reaction was a hoot.  "You were supposed to tell us if you had any chest pain."  She described it as a pressure toward the end of riding.

We finished around 3 and stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch and then we made the journey home.  Surprisingly, she slept most of the way.  She isn't one to sleep in a vehicle.  I'm not saying she never has but isn't typical for her.

I spoke with her cardiologist today.  The extra heart beats went away during the test, which is what he wanted to see.  She doesn't have to go back for another year.