Re: Cardiologist too conservative?

On May 30, 11:33=A0am, Jason Earl <je...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Truth <yamant...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>
> -snip-
>
> > Any treadmill that I've ever used for patients' exercise treadmill
> > testing (ETT or "stress test") is a proprietary one that is attached
> > to a computer and cardiac monitoring system, and sold/serviced by a
> > medical device company. The treadmill automatically increases in speed
> > and grade depending on what protocol I'm using.
>
> Thanks for this response. =A0I haven't had a stress test in years, and I
> was interested to see how well I would do on one. =A0Actually, I would
> like to be able to do a stress test every few weeks and see how my
> regular workouts are effecting my ability to perform this specific test.
>
> Basically, I think that this sort of test sounds like quite a bit of
> fun.
>
> The problem is that I don't really want to involve a doctor. =A0Not that
I=

> have anything against doctors. =A0I just don't want to go through the
> expense and hassle of going to the doctor just so that I can see how
> long I can run on his treadmill. =A0After all, I'm not sick, nor am I
some=

> sort of elite athlete whose continued progress would justify involving
> doctors.
>
> That being the case, finding a treadmill that can be programmed to
> increase speed and incline at known intervals is easy. =A0Finding one
that=

> has a 20% incline (or more) appears to be another story. =A0Even the
fancy=

> ones at my local fitness club don't do that.
>
> Oh well, I might just have to create my own "Jason" protocol that adds
> less incline and more speed.
>
> > But aside from that, they look pretty much like a treadmill one would
> > find in a health club.
>
> The treadmill part is probably manufactured by the same people, although
> the inclines involved are definitely not standard.
>
> > The computer gives a constant, realtime print out of the patient's EKG
> > tracing and periodically makes a hard copy for the treadmill test
> > re****t.
>
> I don't need anything that fancy.
>
> Once again, thank you very much. =A0That was helpful.
>
> Jason

The purpose of a medical ETT is not to see how fit a healthy person is
or to see how long one can run. They are ordered to answer clinical
questions such as, 1) is there cardiac ischemia due to fixed blockages
of coronary arteries 2) are the symptoms of chest pain or shortness of
breath a patient is experiencing due to a cardiac cause 3) are there
abnormal heart rythyms when the patient exercises 4) Is a cardiac
patient able to safely do a certain level of exertion.

There is no medical reason to put a healthy person on a treadmill and
monitor him just to see how long he can run or to repeat this at
monthly intervals to see how much progress he is making in his work
outs. No insurance pays for such a service anyway.