Question:
What are the tests for cardiac clearance?

Is the stress test required? What all is involved in cardiac clearance? Thanks for your help. Chris    — chris S. (posted on August 6, 2003)

August 5, 2003
I had a stress teat and heart cath. in August of last year saw doc in Dec. for check up and he wrote me a letter of approval in April of this year. no new test's done I have MVP. hope this help's Melisa
   — melisa789

August 5, 2003
Hi. I had an EKG at my family doctor. The stress test was only necessary if my doctor ordered it. He didn't. I'm sure everyone has different tests so you may have to just ask.
   — AmyWollet

August 6, 2003
Depends on you and your family history. If they want a cardiologist to look at you, they will probably order the standard EKG plus one other test like a treadmill stress test or echocardiogram (ultrasound). Neither are painful. If they only wanted an EKG they wouldn't send you to a cardiologist for it.
   — bethybb

August 6, 2003
I had to have an EKG and dobutamine echo. The dobutamine echo is instead of a treadmill stress test. They inject drugs to make your heart race, then they take pictures. The pressure used to get good pictures was painful for me.
   — Christy L.

August 6, 2003
My primary care doctor asked for a echo stress test or a Thallium treadmill to be done. Because I have arthritis in my hips & knees, they did the thallium and then another test the next day. This is the 2nd time I have had a Thallium done, wasn't too bad and is over quickly. Then back two hours later for xrays. The test the next day was an injection, eat something with fat, drink water, and then return in an hour for xrays. Received my cardiac clearance a few days later. I also had an EKG done two weeks before that I included with the clearance from my PCP when I saw my surgeon last week.
   — [Deactivated Member]

August 6, 2003
The tests are determined by the cardiologist, depending on what the problem is. My husband had a coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta surgically corrected at age 17, and at age 45, he had to have cardiac clearance for RNY. The cardiologist ordered an EKG, an echocardiogram and a CT angiogram. (They saw a "mass" in his chest on the CT angiogram, which scared the begeebers out of me until he had an MRI done - turned out to be a cyst in the pulmonary vein - nothing to worry about!). He did not have to have a stress test. Again, depends on the cardiologist and the problem.
   — koogy