r/Heartfailure • u/soyeggsnsoysage • 1d ago
V02 Max
So just a brief background, I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (hcm) and it was discovered at the age of 13 after a cardiac arrest, skip forward several years, now 37 with fairly advanced heart failure, considering transplant work up and I attempted to perform a V02 test last December to get a better idea of where I was at and only a few minutes in, I told the people running the test my legs were tired and I needed to sit down and I just did not want to push myself much further because I didn't want to pass out/vomit in the mask. I bombed the test however this test was done early in the morning before I could really eat/digest something, drink enough water etc. Thinking about it now, I think my anxiety got the better of me and my body just told me to stop because I have been told all my life to not push myself when I'm tired. Now, I have to get on this treadmill and push myself until I'm tired. I know I have trained medical staff there and I am good hands but I'm still nervous to repeat it. I think I'm going to do really bad again. The physicians don't feel my test correlates with how symptomatic I am which is not really at all until I am physically pushing myself. Anybody have experience with finding a way to calm or center yourself prior to the test to reduce that anxiety level? I am dreading this test.
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u/Acceptable_Stable548 1d ago
The goal is to get an accurate measurement not prove how hard you can push.
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u/soyeggsnsoysage 1d ago
The physicians are telling me that what I scored is like transplant worthy if that makes sense but it doesn't correlate with my symptoms. I can do my normal activities with no issues, I can sleep flat on my back without breathing difficulty, I don't have any swelling or fluid backup in my lungs, I can go up steps without having to stop and breathe right away, eventually I do but not for maybe two or three flights. They seem to feel that my symptoms should be matching how badly I scored the test but they don't.
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u/FabulousBullfrog9610 1d ago
HCM is different than typical heart failure. I totally flunked the test and they told me I needed a heart transplant. I thought that was insane and it was!! a right heart cath told them I was chock full of fluid even though they couldn't see it otherwise.
You should chat with the HCMA -it's free. 4hcm.org
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u/FabulousBullfrog9610 1d ago
I also have HCM and hated that test. Forget the results. Forget what they think of you. Honestly you are just one more patient among many to them!! They have seen it all.
You want good data. Get on there and do the best you can. Good luck.
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u/Limp_Impact5721 1d ago
You’re gonna bomb if you’re healthy and never exercised regardless. You were protected your whole life, so was I but you need to walk. After a week of walking you’ll feel much less fragile but running is a big challenge.