Echo stress test - choosing provider

[jeromedawg]

Hi all,

Was wondering, for those of you with experience on this, if it's important to choose selectively as far as the medical group/doctor/etc is concerned when going in for an echo stress test. My PCP is suggesting that I go in to do this based on family history (dad had triple-bypass, high cholesterol, blood pressure, etc and my mom is on the higher side for cholesterol & BP). I had a case of costochondritis a few years ago and it seems to come and go and sometimes my chest feels strained/sore but particularly when I'm stretching or bearing weight on it (like rolling onto and or laying on my side, laying on my chest, stretching via child's pose, etc). My doctor had me do an EKG during the appointment last week and I just had a chest XR done this morning - both checked out clear (also, apparently no signs of costochondritis), so the stress test is apparently the last thing to see what if anything is going on.

Should I be picky about who I choose to go see (and meticulously vet, etc) for doing the stress test?

[Daley]

Should I be picky about who I choose to go see (and meticulously vet, etc) for doing the stress test?

All the stress test is is pumping you full of radioactive dye, sticking you under the machine that records blood flow, having you on a treadmill for about five minutes, and going back under the machine again.

Not a lot to screw up there, honestly. My biggest concern getting mine done was just trying not to catch COVID. That hospital trip still ultimately resulted in my finally catching COVID. *sigh*

[jeromedawg]

Should I be picky about who I choose to go see (and meticulously vet, etc) for doing the stress test?

All the stress test is is pumping you full of radioactive dye, sticking you under the machine that records blood flow, having you on a treadmill for about five minutes, and going back under the machine again.

Not a lot to screw up there, honestly. My biggest concern getting mine done was just trying not to catch COVID. That hospital trip still ultimately resulted in my finally catching COVID. *sigh*

Thanks for sharing! The other thing they mention was an ultrasound of the heart... is that the same thing as "sticking you under the machine that records blood flow"?

[Daley]

Thanks for sharing! The other thing they mention was an ultrasound of the heart... is that the same thing as "sticking you under the machine that records blood flow"?

It's just a person with an ultrasound wand rubbing it around your chest taking photos and recording video. So, again, not much to screw up. Clearly, more experienced techs with both scans can potentially help improve the ability of the doctor reviewing the stuff to catch anything, but... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Abe]

These are pretty standard tests, any cardiologist office can handle this. If for some reason you need a cardiac MRI (which is rare) that requires a specialist.

For your knowledge, a chest X-ray usually won't show costochondritis unless it is very severe/chronic and causes calcifications.

[GilesMM]

Should I be picky about who I choose to go see (and meticulously vet, etc) for doing the stress test?

All the stress test is is pumping you full of radioactive dye, sticking you under the machine that records blood flow, having you on a treadmill for about five minutes, and going back under the machine again.

Not a lot to screw up there, honestly. My biggest concern getting mine done was just trying not to catch COVID. That hospital trip still ultimately resulted in my finally catching COVID. *sigh*

That is a nuclear stress test. An echo stress test just an ECG at a higher heart rate than resting. It is a sonogram.

[Daley]

That is a nuclear stress test. An echo stress test just an ECG at a higher heart rate than resting. It is a sonogram.

Aah, my apologies... this is still reasonably new territory for me. That said, still not a lot to screw up, and the one test is technically nested inside the other.

[jeromedawg]

These are pretty standard tests, any cardiologist office can handle this. If for some reason you need a cardiac MRI (which is rare) that requires a specialist.

For your knowledge, a chest X-ray usually won't show costochondritis unless it is very severe/chronic and causes calcifications.

Thanks for the info. What's odd is that when I went to the ER a few years ago, they did chest X-rays and for some reason I was under the impression that the ER doc derived that I have costochondritis based on the X-rays. Is there another method or imaging they would have used to definitively determine that I had/have costochondritis if not the X-rays? Maybe I missed something they did but all I recall is them hooking me up to the EKG machine and then also taking X-rays of my chest. Not sure or can't recall if maybe they did an ultrasound too (would this indicate or show the signs of costochondritis?)?

[Abe]

These are pretty standard tests, any cardiologist office can handle this. If for some reason you need a cardiac MRI (which is rare) that requires a specialist.

For your knowledge, a chest X-ray usually won't show costochondritis unless it is very severe/chronic and causes calcifications.

Thanks for the info. What's odd is that when I went to the ER a few years ago, they did chest X-rays and for some reason I was under the impression that the ER doc derived that I have costochondritis based on the X-rays. Is there another method or imaging they would have used to definitively determine that I had/have costochondritis if not the X-rays? Maybe I missed something they did but all I recall is them hooking me up to the EKG machine and then also taking X-rays of my chest. Not sure or can't recall if maybe they did an ultrasound too (would this indicate or show the signs of costochondritis?)?

It’s diagnosed with physical exam (pushing on your chest along the joints between the sternum and ribs). It’s quite common, so they would’ve checked that when they were seeing you and asking questions (we try to distract people while testing since it’s kind of weird to have someone pushing on your chest and people will flinch just from that).