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Scared of Lexiscan test

I'm sure I am being irrational here but have developed a fear of having this test done and not sure how to handle this. I have had this test a few times over the past 15 years but a little background on this new fear.  Two years ago I had a heart cath done..(also a few in the past) and discovered an allergy to the dye which had never bothered me previously.  First it was a rash over whole body...then it caused breathing difficulties....they then put me on prednisone which caused major breathing issues and I ended up in hospital for a week with exacerbation of heart failure.  Since then they have tried to put me on coreg....sotalol...and another drug.....with each of these I have developed a lung reaction with wheezing...congestion...almost like a bad asthma flare-up (never had asthma)...This past Thanksgiving went through 7-10 day episode of very high BP and a med was added....but since that time have had really bad shortness of breath.  Finally on my April 2nd appt my cardio ordered the lexiscan test to see if any blockages etc.   Well, I have cancelled the test twice.....mainly because of this fear that I'll have a bad reaction tot he chemical used to speed up the heart........
   How can I overcome this fear.....and is there another way to determine extinct of possible blockages without an invasive chemical being used?  I have a lot wrong with my heart.....and maybe it's just the fear of having another heart attack......
   I have never not had any testing done........and I don't want to refuse this test....I just don't know how to get beyond the fear................being 78 doesn't help as I'm afraid of being looked upon as a non-compliant patient....fear does weird things to rational thinking............
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi, understand your anxiety.  Are your EKGs normal? this along with cardiac enzymes will give an indication of acute cardiac muscle damage. Also, treadmill stress testing does not need injection of dye, it predicts your exercise tolerance, though it does not help to map the ischemic areas in the heart. Allergic reactions to Lexiscan (regadenoson) injection are known to occur and it can cause breathlessness. As you are prone for this your doctors may do allergy testing prior to the scan. Please discuss this with your doctor am sure he will provide further assistance. Take care. Regards.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your reply....actually I haven't had an EKG for probably 18 months and from what I'm told it is always abnormal....I know I have plenty of damage from previous heart attack...EF is about 32%....my understanding is that I was to take this test to determine if my blockages discovered during heart cath 2 yrs ago have gotten worse....I'm still concerned about the chemical used during the test particularly now that I hae learned of some kidney problems due to years of taking aldactone along with Lasix as needed.....Ir's like I need certain drugs for the heart failure and yet they adversely affect the kidneys....neverending battle to find ways to treat all issues.............
   Not sure what I'll do but at this point I'm just looking for options to determine extent of blockages and then go from there.....
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