Echo and Stress Test

Thank you so much for your calls and e-mails checking on me today!

The tests themselves went fine today. Long (over 5 hours)...but fine.

Noah was with me for the echocardiogram part. I've seen this precious boy get untold numbers of echos over the past 5.5 years...so it was his turn to see someone else be on the receiving end of one!

But the majority of those 5 hours was spent getting the stress test. It turned out to be a Nuclear Stress Test. I was horrified when I first heard that name and what they were going to do. "You're going to inject what into my veins?!??!" Yes, I'd heard right: radioactive solution. Turns out it is less radiation than an x-ray. Not great...but not as scary as I'd first thought...

It went something like this:

Wait. Start an IV (ouch). Wait. 20 minute scan of my heart (glad I'm not claustrophobic). Wait. Inject Radioactive solution through IV. Wait. Walk for 7 minutes on Treadmill. (15% incline, yow!). One minute before I'm done on treadmill inject more radioactive solution. Rest for 15 minutes. A second 20-minute scan of my heart (still glad I'm not claustrophobic...but can totally understand how people can be!).

I should receive the results from these tests during an appointment with a cardiologist on Monday.

To be honest, my chest has continued to feel funny to me since I was released from the hospital on Sunday. There....I said it out loud. BUT, I don't know for sure if I'm just being hyper-sensitive. I think that is entirely possible...

I actually fully expect the results to be just fine....but it certainly will do something to your psyche to spend hours waiting and testing...surrounded by 70- and 80-year olds! I'll be very glad to get a good word from the cardiologist on Monday!