Cardiac Dobutamine Stress Echo

[MXRod]

Due one in a couple of weeks , anyone had one ? what to expect ?
I know sight I could have blurred vision for a while , and feeling spaced out ( info from apointment letter)
Anything else ?
This is to investigate AF and possible blocked artery on ticker .
All this my be followed by an angiogram later , opted for this in the first instance as it is less invasive

Edited by MXRod on Thursday 30th September 07:10

[mikyman]

Hi, I had this procedure in June last year. In its self its not painful. I was asked to lay on a bed in a small room and remove my shoes and shirt.
Electrodes were attatched as per an ECG and a blood pressure cuff.I had a catheter inserted in,i think, my right arm.
The medical staff were fantastic, four very pleasant young ladies put me at my ease.
A dye was injected in my veins at regular intervals and blood pressure taken.The radiographer recorded the results on a machine i was hooked up to.The strenght of the drug was gradually increased to put greater pressure on my heart and system.
It was ok until they got to maximum strength when i felt my heart was going to burst out of my chest and make off down the corridor!
However I was ok to walk back to the ward where they fed and watered me and kept me there for about an hour for observation.
Yes you do feel spaced out, especially the strange heart feeling, but i had a sleep and was then ok to go home.
Get someone to collect you,dont drive.
Bad results in my case, needed an angiogram which in turn led to a triple bypass,last November.
Good outcome I now feel great and ready to get on with life.
Hope this helps

[MXRod]

mikyman said:

Hi, I had this procedure in June last year. In its self its not painful. I was asked to lay on a bed in a small room and remove my shoes and shirt.
Electrodes were attatched as per an ECG and a blood pressure cuff.I had a catheter inserted in,i think, my right arm.
The medical staff were fantastic, four very pleasant young ladies put me at my ease.
A dye was injected in my veins at regular intervals and blood pressure taken.The radiographer recorded the results on a machine i was hooked up to.The strenght of the drug was gradually increased to put greater pressure on my heart and system.
It was ok until they got to maximum strength when i felt my heart was going to burst out of my chest and make off down the corridor!
However I was ok to walk back to the ward where they fed and watered me and kept me there for about an hour for observation.
Yes you do feel spaced out, especially the strange heart feeling, but i had a sleep and was then ok to go home.
Get someone to collect you,dont drive.
Bad results in my case, needed an angiogram which in turn led to a triple bypass,last November.
Good outcome I now feel great and ready to get on with life.
Hope this helps

Thanks for that , sorry for delay , totally missed your reply .
Tomorrow is the day , so I will report back , OH has taken a day off to ferry me to and from hospital

[MXRod]

The test was carried out this morning , and I am glad to say I suffered very little in the way of side effects .
My heart rate was taken to 145 , and apart from minor pounding , that was all I felt , the recovery to normal after the introduction of atropine , and took less than 5 mins .
The cardiologist then had a chat , and the next stage will be a loop also called a reveal implant device for long term monitoring of heart rate etc , and long term reviews ,
So good news ( I think !)