Cardiology Clearance

I need to take your board hostage for a minute for a quick question. I did all my main testing yesterday but today I go for my Cardio Clearance, why does it say wear tennis shoes? I assume I will be doing some treadmill action....am I right? And for how long? Thanks! ~nancy

Hi Nancy, I just had my cardiology clearance done last month. Keep in mind I am in MD and it's probably a different process altogether, but I was scheduled for a 2 day stress test. On the 1st day, they gave me an injection and took pictures of my heart (like a CT scan). On the second day, I had the radiation IV and they made me walk on the treadmill, then took more pictures of the heart. The treadmil part, if it's the same for you, wasn't that bad. It was about 6-8 minutes total with some light increase in the speed and incline. I think it's meant to show how the heart will react to stress. It's better to be safe than sorry. Yours could be as simple as a walk on the treadmill and an EKG or something. Hope that helps a little. Good luck with it.

Thanks for your response Roni. I jsut got back, no treadmill, just a simple EKG. The Doc said since I'm so yoong (24) and have no history I really didn't need to have any extensive testing and gave me my clearance then & there! ~Nancy

I had a stress test done after an abnormal EKG showed the possibility of a previous heart attack. Mine was one day, they injected me with radioactive stuff, took picture of my heart, then I walked on the treadmill and they injected me again while I was walking, and finally took more pictures of my heart after I was done. It turned out my heart was fine and it was an error in the first EKG, but it was best to know. They will no doubt be putting you on a treadmill so that is why they want you to wear tennis shoes. I know there are different stress tests. Good luck with it! Hugs, Deanna

wow, yikes that must have been scarey at first!! Well like I responded up top I jsut got back, no treadmill, just a simple EKG! ~nancy

Oh that is good!! Wonder why they told you to wear tennis shoes... Glad to hear it went well for you! Hugs, Deanna