Stress test question

I recently had a stress test (Bruce protocol) and have a question.

I went for 15 minutes, 30 seconds, and they said they had "all the information" they needed for me, i.e., I'd reached the target heart rate.

My doctor seemed to think that was a really good result (no problems were found).

My question is more along the lines of fitness. Is 15 minutes really that good from a fitness standpoint? I mean, I notice that the test could have gone on for five more minutes. I work out a lot (bike, jog, hike, etc.), and I really thought I'd do better. (In fact, I think I could have pushed it to finish stage six.)

Not really worried about it. Just curious.

Phil: Thanks. The chest pain thing seems like it was a one-time deal.
In retrospect, I think I probably strained a chest muscle. (I had just started doing some weight lifting.) But because of the family history and my previous sky-high cholesterol reading, I didn't want to take any chances, so I got checked out with EKGs (normal) and that blood test that checks for damage to the heart muscle (also normal). That was six months ago, and I haven't had any discomfort since.

I am 40, so my target is 153 and max is 180.

I have live with shortness of breath, chest tighness all my life, recentl, I finaly decidied to go in to see what was going on.

On the stress test, I hit my target HR in a couple of minutes, leveled out until level 2, then hit my max HR at just a bit over 5 minutes.

Needless to say, I was scheduled to go back for a nuclear stress test, as I was told I tested 'positive'

But 15 minutes, just to reach target HR, at least to me, seems really good.

I completed one a few months back and quizzed the staff about the protocol. They used a HR target of 85% of age predicted maximum. (220 - age) x 85%. Do you remember what your HR was?

Phil: They told me my target heart rate was around 185, and I hit that after around 13 minutes.

Other info: I'd thought I was suffering chest pains a couple of weeks before the stress test, which led to me seeing a cardiologist. Full blood work revealed I had elevated Lp(a) (my reading was 87; should be below 30). Other markers were pretty good; HDL 68, LDL 120,
Triglycerides 88. (A year earlier, my total cholesterol was 276. I'd lowered it through diet and exercise alone, plus 600 mg a day of over-the-counter Niacin.) Doctor said VLDL was also good, though I can't remember exact number.

Because of the elevated Lp(a), I'm now taking 2000 mg of Niaspan a day, plus a baby aspirin.

I'm 37, 5-9, 180 pounds (down from 210 pounds a year and a half ago).
Some history of heart disease in the family (grandfather died of a heart attack in his early 50s, and my father, who is 67, has been on statins for years. He exercises and eats well, and has had no cardiac events so far.)

185.... they'd obviously seen enough. The stress test is not an Olympic event
I'm sure this gave them all the data they needed.

Wow, good job on the weight and keep up with the exercise. If the chest pains persist, go back to your MD/Cardiologist until you get a satisfactory explanation.

It's a good sign that you felt you could go further on your stress test. I remember mine - I felt I had never exercised that hard in my life. A possible explanation for you: max heart rates have a standard deviation of 16 beats. It's possible your max is higher than the 220 - 38 formula would predict. Thus, since you weren't near your max you would feel you could easily go further. You seem fit, to test yourself see how far you can run in 12 minutes. I believe 1 1/2 miles is considered good according to Dr. Cooper that's a 7.5 mile per hour pace. 1.75 miles is considered excellent. If you have access to a heart rate monitor or if you are adept at taking your own pulse there is a simple test you can do to judge your risk of CHD. First, exercise to get your heart rate up to 85% of max. Then stop and sit down for 60 seconds. Find out how far your pulse has declined. If your heart rate has declined by 13 beats or more, you're okay. Mine declines by 35 beats. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have found this recovery heart rate is a better predicter of risk than the usual treadmill test. You are becoming proactive about your health - that's good. Here are two simple things that can lower your risk further: 1)
become a moderate drinker - one or two drinks a day (unless you are at risk of becoming alcoholic) 2) eat oily fish at least 2 x per week.
Keep watching your weight and your waistline. Keep track of your blood pressure - it's a good idea to test it periodically at supermarkets or drugstores. 120/80 is good, 115/75 is ideal. BTW my
LPa is also high, please post if you are able to lower it. Keep up the good work!

What brought on the chest pains? Did it occur during physical exertion or just at random?

Emotional stress can cause chest pain.

You might wish to do a web search for Linus Pauling, Matthias Rath and lipoprotein A. If I recall, the recommendation was for Vit. C and Lysine supplements. I don't have the original URL, but the following is from
The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1995,
Plasmin-Induced Proteolysis and the Role of Apoprotein(a), Lysine, and
Synthetic Lysine Analogs: