The initial resting echo cardiogram said there was nothing wrong with my heart but my doctor was still very concerned about the numbers I was posting. She referred me to a cardiologist who was to give me a treadmill stress test and an 24 hour holter to measure my heart.
I have seen numerous movies and pictures of treadmill stress tests over the years. The patient is always smiling, young, females are fully clothed, and they show no sign of discomfort. I had NO idea what I was in for!
Upon arriving at the cardiologist's waiting room, I sat amongst 10 other patients, all above the age of 60. They kept looking at me awkwardly as I was clearly too young to be part of their "stint" club and my bright yellow shoes were obnoxious amongst their stoic attire. I am sure they wondered what a fit girl was doing in that office and they pitied whatever the reason might be.
After waiting about 10 minutes, a technician called me back to the room where I was greeted with an ultrasound machine, 5 computers, and a treadmill that came from 1980. The technician offered me new clothing for the test, which was a hilarious excuse for a "jacket." Now I know why ALL the images on the Internet of treadmill tests are of men without a shirt. I was to run with a mid-drift paper jacket, open to the front, with wires and patches covering a good portion of my chest and stomach.
The two women alternated taking my stats and hundreds of pictures of my heart at rest through the ultrasound machine. When they left the room periodically, I watched my heart rate climb and settle with my breathing. Out of pure boredom, I began to breath with different rhythms to see if I could adjust my heart rate with minimal effort.
Finally, it was time to jump on the treadmill. Before I began, they told me two things: 1. There was an incredibly fit man yesterday that broke the time record for the last few weeks lasting 15:23. They doubted I could beat him. (Most people only last up to 10 minutes.) 2. They started at a 10% incline and it would go up 2% every 2-3 minutes while the tread sped up at the same increment. Thus began the strangest workout I've ever endured.
We began really slowly. I started at a 10% incline, but walked at a 15 minute per mile pace. Within 2 minutes, I was speed walking at a 12% incline, and by 6 minutes I was slowly jogging at a 14% incline. I watched my heart rate settle in the 160 range for a few minutes, but the second we passed the 16% incline, it climbed like mercury in a meat thermometer. I am not sure if they were actually testing my heart rate, or my pain threshold. Other than passing out completely, or vomiting violently all over the archaic treadmill, how would we know when I reached my absolute, top heart rate?
I have an incredible pain capacity. I birthed both my boys completely naturally. I didn't have so much as an IV in my arm, nor did I ever scream out in pain or curse at my husband as all the movies promote. After 12 minutes of running up a steep mountain side, I was hurting, I wanted to stop. I ran while tightly gripping the padded handle bar, petrified that I was going to fall off the 20% incline and make a complete fool out of myself - paper jacket splayed open on the floor. I lasted 16:02. The techs were thoroughly excited by this achievement but I just wanted to vomit as I felt my heart try to beat out of every pressure point in my head, neck, arms, and legs. When I stopped, it wasn't because they told me to, I gave into the pain. Ta Da! We found my pain threshold! My ending heart rate was 192 bpm.
Without a cool down, they literally helped me jump from the moving treadmill back onto the examination table where I got another series of ultrasound pictures. I am sure the pictures of my heart looked like a fish out of water gulping for air at this point, so I shamefully adverted my eyes.
Next, I was fitted with my 24 hour holter. Again, I was given only two instructions: 1. DO NOT SHOWER! 2. Do everything like you normally would. If you go for a run at 6 am, do it, just do NOT shower! Gross.
When I got home, my oldest son thought I was the coolest thing since the Transformers. "With all those wires, Mom, you look like Cybotron!" Um, thanks dear, whoever that is...?
I slept fine that night with my little pocket computer, 5 patches, and numerous wires covering my chest.
The next morning I needed to go for a 3 mile run. My doctor told me weeks ago to really go for it. She said, "It doesn't matter if you wear the holter if you don't prove what is happening to your heart. Make a game to see how high you can get your heart rate to climb." My husband helped me pack my running Camelbak with the monitor, snapped a few pictures out of humor, and I set off with my dog.
Tucker LOVED this run. I didn't have to remind him to behave himself once. We set off at a good clip, averaging 8:00 miles, climbing up 3-9% grades throughout the route. I felt my heart rate climb, so I pushed harder. I didn't want the test to be inconclusive. At the top of the hills I felt a bit faint and thought I might barf up my freshly consumed Cliff Bar a few times, but I made it home, finishing the route faster than I have ever run it before.
Finally, there was one small issue - I sweat a lot when I run. I don't sweat during the run, but when I stop, especially if I pushed myself, I am drenched. At 12:30pm I needed to drop Ethan off at school, where I go into the classroom and speak to teachers and numerous parents. Not showering was NOT going to happen! I didn't take a real shower, but I carefully made myself feel alive again.By 2:45pm the monitor timed out and I was free. I don't know when I will get the results. I was hoping I would get them before I leave on Saturday for the Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, but I doubt that will happen. As of now, all I know is that my heart rate is really high when I exercise (Thanks for that revelation, Doc!). Other than the extremely high beats per minute, my heart sounds and looks good. I am happy with those results, but I am not sure what they are going to say about bringing my heart rate down. My doctor informed me that having such a high heart rate for many years is asking for a heart attack when I am 40-50 years old. I don't like the idea of long term medications, but I am also not going to stop running, nor will I stop pushing my limits improving times and distances.
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