Lexiscan®

I just got home from the Lexiscan stress test. My appointment was at 1:00 pm and it took a little over two hours. I had the same test done in 2016 after not being able to get my heart rate up over 160 bpm. That time, I did the test at the St. Joseph Outpatient Pavilion and it was also requested by UCLA Transplant Center. This time, the test was done in the cardiologist’s office.

First the tech/nurse inserted an IV port in my left arm and injected some dye or contrast for taking pictures of my heart. I had to wait 15 minutes for it to circulate and the imaging part took another 15 minutes. Next, he injected the Lexiscan drug into the IV followed by more contrast and some saline. It was weird. At first there was no reaction. Then I felt my chest tighten, breathing became more difficult, and different muscles started to ache. My heart rate went up a bit from 60 bpm to 70 bpm, while my blood pressure (too high) dropped by 30 points. At the same time, he took some 12-lead EKG readings for the cardiologist. Next, I waited for 30 minutes for the contrast to circulate again, and back to the imaging room for another set of pictures. Done.

It’s now 4:00 pm and I am still tired from the Lexiscan. Chest and back muscles are still a bit tight, and I have a headache that wasn’t there before. Even though I’m starving and need to eat something, I’m going to take a nap first and hopefully feel better afterwards. Oh, and fistula is still hurting too.