Re: Cardiologist too conservative?

"Andrzej Rosa" <bakters@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:mai3h5-nm.ln1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Dnia 2008-05-29 Zen Cohen napisa³(a):
>> I had to take a treadmill stress test yesterday because I had minor
>> right-side chest pain a couple weeks after a 40% spontaneous
pneumothorax 
>> in
>> my right lung. I suspect the test was overkill but I wasn't going to
defy 
>> my
>> doc's advice.
>>
>> He said he'd calculate 220 minus my age (49) so limited the test to 171

>> bpm.
>> I told him that I sometimes approach 180 when exercising and that I'd 
>> like
>> to see if there are any problems when my heart reaches that range. Also

>> said
>> I'd heard the 220-minus-age formula was arbitrary, He agreed but said
it 
>> was
>> a good rule of thumb and summarily dismissed my request by pronouncing
I
>> just shouldn't exercise above my 220-minus-age. I realize that there is

>> some
>> additional risk by exercising at higher heart rates but I'm willing to 
>> take
>> some measure of risk because I like to push myself and better my
>> performance.
>
> I think the guy was right.  If something wrong happened to you, he would
> be responsible.  You had your pneumosomething already.  What if it
> happened again?  You could sue his pants off, I suppose.
>

He's not a guarantor of my health; he just has to act prudently. I had 
already signed a pretty comprehensive informed consent do***ent, and his 
warning me of any additional risk, with my knowing acceptance of it would 
seemingly negate any malpractice. Seems that if I'm telling him I'm 
regularly exceeding those maximums and he fails to test me under those 
conditions when he had the op****tunity to do so under medical 
supervisiocould expose him to liability more than actually testing me with

informed consent.

......