My Echocardiogram/Stress Test:

So today I went for my echocardiogram/stress test, which involves an echogram, followed by a treadmill stress test, followed by a 2nd echogram.

There were two white female techs, one for the echogram and one for the treadmill stress test. The treadmill lady explained to me that the treadmill would run at moderate intensity for 3 minutes, then dramatically ratchet up in both speed and incline, and continue the pattern until you reached your maximum heart rate, or told them you could not continue.

I asked "What rate are you shooting for?" and she said "We don't like to tell the patient that, because then they focus on the number. We want you to have us stop the machine if you are having chest pain, trouble breathing, etc."

So anyway, after awhile they were both laughing and saying this one is going to be a long test!

I saw the monitor say "179," with a bar graph underneath showing what percentage you were at getting to that number, so I figured out on my own that they were using the old 220 minus your age formula.

After awhile they kept asking me like every 20 seconds "Are you okay? Are you okay?" and I said "I'm fine, keep it going."

So it was getting close to 179, and they keep saying "Are you okay? Do you need to stop?" So I said "Keep it going, it's up to you when to stop it!"

And she says: "No, it's up to you! You are supposed to tell us!" And I said "I am a competitive runner, you are going to have to kill me before I cry "uncle," or for mercy!"

So they laughed and the machine finally hit 179, and then they turned it off and did the 2nd echogram, which as far as they could tell on the spot was good.

But this brings up an interesting point. I've always believed that competitive people should train harder than what is generally recommended in running/fitness magazines, books, etc.

I found a

good article ( <--link )

that shows how doctors of late have been working to revise the old formulas, it should be of interest to my fellow white runners.

If you want to skip the article, the new formulas go like this:

Females: Maximum Heart Rate ( MHR ) = 209 minus ( age X .7 )

Males: Maximum Heart Rate ( MHR ) = 214 minus ( age X .8 )