I woke up early this morning, ate a bowl of cereal, got dressed, and headed to my doctor's appointment with the Cardiologist. I knew from the beginning it would be a long day, since I had several tests scheduled.
As soon as I was brought to an exam room, a nurse started an IV and locked it. Then another nurse injected a radioactive dye into the IV. Since it takes some time to circulate through the body, they brought me to another room to get my echocardiogram done. I was a little nervous, but the ultrasound technologist was nice and explained everything she was doing. She got several different views of my heart, and near the end of the test they injected aggitated saline into my IV. They called it the "bubble test." I wasn't very sure what it was used for, but apparently it's used to diagnose if there is a hole in the heart. She asked me to cough, and I was told that the bubbles passed from one side of my heart directly to the other (which obviously shouldn't happen).
After that test was done, I went to a third room where I was told to lie completely still. A machine moved in small increments to take picures of my heart from different angles. This lasted 17 minutes-a very long time to lie completely still.
Finally, I went to take the stress test on the treadmill. It started off at a very slow walking pace, but my heart rate was almost immediately 145 bpm. Every three minutes, the treadmill would speed up and increase the incline. I was told to notify the nurse when I thought I would only be able to continue for 1-2 more minutes, because they would need to inject something into my IV and I would need to continue exercising.
I was scared that I wouldn't be ble to go much farther than the third incline, so I notified the nurse. Although I was pretty out of breath, I feel like I spoke up too soon. But the nurse said they should have what they needed. The goal was to get my heartrate over 160, and it was about 175-180 when I finished.
After that test, I waited a bit longer, and then was taken back to the room with the camera machine. I lied still for another 15 minutes while it took more pictures, and then was told that I was done for the day. They told me that the doctor would notify me when they had all of the results.
At 1:20, I drove across town to pick up an event monitor. I am supposed to wear it at all times for about a month or until my doctor tells me I can turn it back in. I'm only supposed to take it off for showers or when I'm swimming. I'm even supposed to wear it at night while I'm sleeping.
I'm not very thrilled about it. The nurse explained to me how to use it, and how to call the results in when I need to. If I have an episode of chest pain or palpitations, I am supposed to hit the record button. It also has specific settings for when it will take a recording on its own. As soon as I left the office and was walking to my car, the monitor beeped and started recording on its own. I figured it was because my heartrate was up since I was walking, but I hope it doesn't do this all the time.
There are two leads on the monitor. One is marked L for Left, and it goes just below the left breast. The other lead is marked R for Right, and goes below my collar bone. The leads plug into the monitor which is a bit larger than I expected, and is worn by clipping to jeans.
The monitor can record up to three events, but will beep nonstop once it records one event. Very annoying. Also annoying is the fact that to transmit the signal, you have to wait on hold for about 10 minutes, then transmit the signal by holding your phone over the monitor. Unfortunately, my cell phone does not transmit the signal, and we don't have a home phone. So for now, I am trading phones with Nick since the iPhone actually worked to transmit the signal.
Unfortunately, the lead stickers are already irritating my skin. I may have to call to see if there is another option for more sensitive skin. Here's hoping I don't have to wear this thing much longer, and also that nothing too serious is going on!
