Hello
Thanks for posting at HCM.
Your wife has symptoms of
chest pain and discomfort on exertion which are very typical for
angina pectoris or
ischemic heart disease. This means there are some blocks in the heart arteries. When a patient with such blocks walks or exercises, the heart rate increases and its blood and oxygen demand increases. Since the arteries are blocked, they cannot cope up with the extra demand of blood and oxygen while exercising or walking. This causes the chest pain/discomfort.
This same principle is used in a TMT. you are made to exercise on a treadmill while your ECG is continuously being recorded to see whether the ECG shows changes while walking corresponding to her chest pain. Hence it is called provocable
ischemia since we provoke the event. Before a TMT, a
target heart rate is set for the patient till which the patient is usually made to walk on the treadmill. This target heart rate is usually 220 - age of the patient.
Your wife's TMT showed changes of ischemia or deficiency in blood supply at 74% of this target heart rate. Hence this is a positive test and indicates a strong possibility of blockages in the heart in view of typical symptoms and a postive TMT.
Your cardiologist will advice a coronary
angiography for her which is a invasive test done through a small hole in the hand or the leg. This will show the blockages in the heart and their severity. On basis of the angiography findings, further treatment (medical management vs
angioplasty vs bypass) can be discussed.
My feeling is she would require an angioplasty.
Please go ahead with an angiography and revert with the findings.
Wishing her good health
Regards