heart stress test

[worriedshrimp]

greetings,

i will soon be referred to a heart stress test via my local va health care facility. i assume this test will be given by a private local cardiologist. my question is for anyone who has undergone this test and basically what to expect. further i am 11b10 vietnam so hope the va will have informed the testing people that i may be presumed to have an agent orange link. finally is this test the METs test and/or will it satisfy the values of a METs test? thanks for any clarity.

[worriedshrimp]

Worriedshrimp, is this for a C & P exam or is it a scheduled heart stress test? 

no this is not for a C&P exam... i've since learned... i called the regional vso in my state and talked to a reasonable officer who informed me that i should definitely follow up with a c&p exam based on results of the community health stress test - coming soon i believe.  i've had a bit of trouble with my county vso. recently an officer delegated to handle my hearing loss claim advised me to wait 3 to 5 years before applying. i asked that she at least examine the discriminating hearing values. when she dismissed that idea i insisted and wrote a letter to the vso agency. not long afterwards i was given a c&p exam for hearing loss and was awarded a 20 percent disability. the gist of all this is that i refuse to deal with my local county vso office. who i believe have created a black hole of ill will... and without doubt have short changed many veterans my age - 71 yrs.

 

i keep entirely out of veterans affairs and want to thank those on this list who have responded with valuable information. i hope to get the portland vso or even my home of records vso (where i left my dd214 after ets) Lincoln city oregon to attend to applying for the heart stress c&p (should an exam be necessary). i refuse to be misled and insulted by the vso of my present county.

 

thanks again,

 

i'll keep the thread informed.

[GBArmy]

Worriedshrimp  I'm not clear on why you are getting the heart eval, but in any case, get a copy of the medical findings, etc.  from the VA Regional Office. If you sign up to VA.gov (not hard to do), and myhealthevet.   All VA exams, medical findings, etc. pertaining to your health is posted there 3 days after completed. If you go to an outside VA subcontractor, you have to request from the Regional Office. It's your medical info, you have a right to it. Compare the MET values, etc. to the CFR mentioned above and see where you fall if you submit a claim for disability. If your symptoms indicate you should get a disability, put in for it. Being a Vietnam veteran, heart disease, (VA calls it Coronary Artery Disease,or C.A.D.) is presumptive. You shouldn't require a nexus statement from your own doc. We encourage you to submit. There are certainly a lot of bad apples out there as VSO's, but there are some really good ones too. Use the time right now to find a good one if you want. Ask your other veteran buddies; maybe they can recommend. Interview them: ask specific questions. If you get disapproved, come back and we can help. Don't forget secondaries; do you also have High B/P, tinnitus, stomach problems from heart meds? You can build on this. Good luck.

[jbasser]

I have had a few Stress Test's done. These tests are done in a setting that has the facilities to do it. This test involved an injection of a Radioactive Isotope, being scanned by a scanner, getting on a treadmill or injected with Atropine to rev up the heart, then getting scanned again. 

There is also a test called a Stress Echo where they rev up the heart and do a Ultrasound in rapid fashion.