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I Am 64 And Have Been Under A Great Deal

Posted on Wed, 2 Jan 2019

Question: I am 64 and have been under a great deal of stress. Anxiety. Not sleeping. I went in to a doctor yesterday for a consult to be a new patient. I told her my issues and didn't expect anything but a consult. She proceeded to take my blood pressure, which was moderately high. My blood pressure has never been high before in my life. I was upset and crying relaying my "issues" before bp reading. They then took blood and did and EKG! She said the EKG was abnormal and wants to see me have a stress test now. As if I wasn't under a great deal of anxiey already, not am scared to death. I drank 3 cups of coffee yesterday before the test, took and Advil, took several vitamins, and also an herbal supplement containing astragalus. Sooooo, should I have test done again when I'm calmer??

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Can I see the EKG?

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Stress and caffeine would increase heart rate and lead to irregularities. It can as well precipitate ischemic changes in preexisting conditions. I would like to review the EKG report to see if there any ischemic changes. If there are any, then the doctor is right in asking for stress test.

You may get the test done when calm; but the results will not change the fact there were ischemic changes (if it has been found) during stressful condition and after caffeine.

In simple words, stress test is essential if there are changes found in the EKG. There is an option to upload reports and pictures on this page. If you wish you may upload the EKG and let me check.

Hope this is clear. Let me know if you need clarifications.

Regards

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar