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High calcium score: I'm in shock
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Oct 31, 2023 | Replies (161)Comment receiving replies
Just back from cardiologist. I mentioned 700 as being horrible or emergency. He said no, I have people in thousands. Initial tests (he listened to heart, EKG) looked good. I said I run 4 miles. He said no symptoms hard to get insurance to pay for tests so he will indicate I have minor symptoms so I can be tested. Nuclear stress test/echo cardiogram/nuclear CT scan.
I think they are doing pharma stress test. I think I'd rather exercise vs a drug stressing my heart. Any thoughts on this?
"A radioactive substance, such as thallium or sestamibi, will be injected into one of your veins. You will lie down and wait for between 15 and 45 minutes. A special camera will scan your heart and create pictures to show how the substance has traveled through your blood and into your heart.
A healthcare provider can use two different imaging technologies for a nuclear cardiac stress test: PET or SPECT.
Another way a nuclear stress test can be classified is whether it involves physical activity or medication to stress the heart:
Exercise stress test: You exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike to increase blood flow to the heart and reach a target heart rate.
Pharmacologic stress test: If you can’t exercise, you receive medication to increase blood flow and stress the heart.
Replies to "Just back from cardiologist. I mentioned 700 as being horrible or emergency. He said no, I..."
I had the PET and STRESS TEST done. My 1st cardiologist's office wouldn't cover it. He wanted to do an angiogram right away (crazy!). I have about 1600 on my calcium score but I am totally asymptomatic (swim, tennis, gym at 64 yrs. old).
Went for a 2nd opinion and that office was able to make it so my insurance would cover the costs (about $750.00). The stress test went well (I hate running for a long steady while mainly because it bothers my knees a little bit). For the PET scan to be done I had a dye injected into me and that showed (as per the cardiologist)a little dark spot.
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The problem with a nuclear stress test is, you will be in there for hours. Sometimes they have you do part of it one day and the other part the next. The good part is, they get a picture of the working heart. However, you also get a dose of radiation. It depends on how many other tests you get whether you want that radiation. Ford Brewer at PrevMed does not believe in them as he said they do not prove anything and if they find anything you will be in the cath lab next for a stent. I got the echo, which took about 30 minutes and I was done. No pictures, but hey, they were good enough for millions of people for decades. I would go with that. You can always go for a nuclear next. I also am not in favor of the drug, but I think they can neutralize it if necessary. While exercising, they monitor everything closely and will get you off if there are symptoms. I didn't have any, but there were about three people there and they were hooked into a doctor just in case. There was no recovery time with the echo stress test. Not sure about the nuclear. My wife just does not like radiation, so she would not let me near it, nor did she want to wait so long. There is no question that the docs want the nuke test. It's the latest thing. I also questioned their motives for recommending it. Was it better or did they want to pay off the machine or bring in some good money?