Medicines to withhold before heart stress test

Prior to having a heart stress test, your doctor will often ask you to not take several medicines you may be on that can affect the stress test result. Such medicines are often used to lower blood pressure or control the heart rate and include beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, amiodarone, digoxin, flecainide, sotalol, bisoprolol, carvedilol, verapamil, cardizem, diltiazem. Such medicines can lower your heart rate. The aim of a stress test is to assess how fast your heart rate can beat with physical exertion so we are keen for the heart rate to not be artificially lowered. Please check with the centre you have been referred to a few days prior to your appointment for the complete list of medicines.

[LuisHernandez-prrj]

I just had this done to me today, and because it was foreign to me I got scared, but I only felt pressure as if they were filling your body up with something, like in the Matrix and you thought you were drawning and pulling you in different directions. At one point they did ask me if I wanted to call the Ambulance and I said no is not that bad, is pressure, slight headache, dizzy and at the end, you can taste the metal. It wasn't an awful experience at all, but it wasn't roses either, but no pain at all!

[Meskarune]

Can I still use my asthma inhaler? I get exercise induced asthma attacks...

[dr.htheheartdr.]

Sorry, Dr. Barlis, but I respectfully disagree. You are certainly correct that these medicines may slow your heart rate, and preclude achieving a high heart rate response to exercise, however these medicines also both lower your blood pressure, as well as help to prevent excessively tachycardic (very fast, for our non-medical viewers) heart rate responses in patients with atrial fibrillation, for example. So the medicines which should be held prior to exercise stress testing needs to be individualized for each patient, taking into account the reason for the stress test in the first place, and not simply stopping all of these medications for everyone.

[Thizz]

What about water pills I have a test coming up