Had a treadmill test with thalamine IV today - ask me anything!

[eleny]

It really was a piece of cake and I'm very out of shape. So the neighbor who told me it was horribly grueling was not someone I should be talking with about health issues. He had me imagining a scenario from a pre-code terror comic book! In reality, the folks at the hospital Heart Center were *all* supportive. I had a taste of what it's like to be wealthy enough to have a personal trainer. That must be very, very nice.

[dweller]

1. so did you check out okay?

my da had a treadmill test that preliminarily determined that he had problems, resulting in a triple bypass last fall.
Don't guess he had the thalamine iv tho. What was the point of that chem iv?

i'm trying to recall thalamine...phyline and thalamine are active ingredients in black tea?

dp

[Crunchy Frog]

2. What the Hell is thalamine

and why is it used in treadmill tests?

[ikojo]

3. I had one a couple of years ago (2002) and

if I remember correctly the thalamine is used to watch your blood go through your body and heart. I think it allows the radiologist and cardiologist to see exactly what your heart is doing.

When I had my test I was given an IV injection of thalamine. I was then put on the treadmill and then they put me on this table and a machine took a picture of my heart.

It took about two hours.

[guitar man]

4. I think eleny might mean thallium (sp?)

That's what they used when I had mine anyway. It's a radioactive tracer element that helps them look for blockages in and around the heart.

[blondeatlast]

5. Think your neighbor was mistaken about which test YOU had.

There IS a cardio stress test that uses some killer chems. I had one at 42 and I literally felt like I was on my last few gasps.

They use it when you are unable to put forth physical effort.

It makes you feel like your arteries are being stripped away and your heart will explode right outta your chest.

[eleny]

6. i felt fine and checked out good

and thanks to the person who corrected my spelling of the chem. i sure messed that up.

i've been drinking lots of water today to help flush the stuff from my system. and it was good to learn that under the stress, nothing abnormal showed up on the EKG. so far, so good!

[jmowreader]

7. This is the test he had

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4743

I looked because thallium isn't one of the more benign elements, and I'm like "why would you want THAT injected into you?"

[dweller]

8. same question i had about 'thalamine' n/t