Having a 'Stress Test' for the First Time.

Matthew Palmer, one of our older members, recently made the transition to adult hospital services. After making the move to adult services, your new heart doctor will usually order a whole bunch of tests, they sometimes call this an 'MOT', just like you have to get your car properly checked once a year to make sure everything is working okay. Matthew talks about what they tested and why.

My name is Matthew Palmer, I am 17 Years old and I have a condition called Tricuspids Atresia. My Atresia is on the right side of my heart rather than the left side of the heart. I have been under Birmingham Children Hospital since I was born but I have recently been transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. The main reason why I had to have a Stress Test is because my new consultant from Queen Elizabeth wanted me to take part in a stress test to get a broader idea of how my Heart is working at this moment in time.

At first, when I was told that I had to have a stress test done, I was worried because I didn’t know what to expect from a stress test as this was going to be my first ever stress test. On my arrival at the hospital I was told how the stress test was going to be and I was given some instructions prior to the test beginning. After the brief discussion about the test, they took me to have my height measured and then before the test they tested my oxygen saturation levels to see what my saturation is normally like before the test began. The reason for checking my saturation before the test was to see what my saturations are like on rest and before any physical activity.
Next, once the saturation was measured, they started to put me on the ECG monitor because the ECG monitor would test my heart rhythm while doing the stress test. After the ECG monitor was fitted they then placed a special breathing mask as this would monitor my oxygen intake to my lungs, thus will then be monitored on the saturation. When the test began they asked me to take deep breaths; then to breathe out until I was no longer able to breathe normally without taking another breath. This was to test my lung capacity for breathing and my intake and my output of oxygen. Once that part of the test was finished they gave me a 5 minute rest so that I could catch my breath before the treadmill test began.

Once the 5 minute recovery was over they started to begin the treadmill test but, before that they told me they will start the treadmill at a slow walking pace and then gradually increase the speed. They also said that once I became breathless and can’t carry on I should let them know and they will stop the test. When the test began the speed on the treadmill was at walking speed and during that speed I was still feeling a bit nervous and apprehensive as this was a new experience for me. Within 1 minute of the walking speed my nerves started to calm down and I started to feel a bit more comfortable in doing the test. I started to get into the rhythm of the stress test, then they increased the speed just a bit but not by much, during that speed my nerves completely had gone and that was when I realised that the test wasn’t at all bad.
Also, during that speed, I found that my body and heart were coping well with the speed and that I wasn’t getting breathless. Once the speed started to get faster I did start to feel that I was beginning to push my body towards my limit and I could start to feel my heart beginning to beat quite fast. During that time my saturation started to slowly decrease as the test continued. The treadmill was then gradually increasing to a running pace and when this was happening I started to get breathless and my legs started to hurt and tire. Eventually once they set it to the running pace I started to feel the pace and started to feel myself pushing it to the limit; while this was happening I felt my heart beating faster and becoming breathless.

After I started to feel this happening I asked the assessors to stop the test as I have went over my limit and I was unable to continue because I was breathless; thus after asking them to stop the test the assessors stopped the test by decreasing the speed until the speed stopped. Once the test was over they took off the mask and the ECG monitor, after that they gave me a rest and once I had caught my breath they asked me on a scale to 1- 20 how hard I thought I pushed myself during that test in which I said 15 as I believed I pushed myself to my limit and surpassed my limit. The assessors told me that I will not get my results back until my next appointment with my consultant as the consultant will have to look at the results first before telling me how my heart is getting on at the moment.

Overall the experience of the stress test wasn’t as bad as I first feared.

Here's an example of an exercise stress test, but without the breathing mask. This isn't Matthew in the video, but still gives you a good idea of what goes on.