When I scheduled my hip replacement surgery, I thought I had a clear timeline. Three months out, mark the calendar, prepare my home, arrange time off work. But then came the words no one wants to hear: “We need cardiac clearance before we can proceed.” What I thought would be a routine checkup turned into a two-month delay involving a chemical stress test and a heart catheter. Here’s what happened.
Why Cardiac Clearance Was Required
I’ve been through this before. In April 2023, I had my right hip replaced. I got cardiac clearance then without any major issues. The reason I needed cardiac clearance in the first place is that about four years ago, I experienced something called SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) – an episode where my heart rhythm went haywire. Since then, I’ve been on metoprolol, a beta-blocker that keeps my heart in normal sinus rhythm. For major surgeries like hip replacement, doctors need to make sure your heart can handle the stress of anesthesia and the procedure. Given my SVT history, cardiac clearance is required – I get that, and I had no problem with it for my right hip. What I didn’t expect was that getting clearance for my LEFT hip – nearly two years later – would become complicated and delay my surgery by two months.
The Treadmill Test I Couldn’t Take
The standard way to check your heart’s function under stress is a treadmill test – you walk on a treadmill while they monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, and EKG. There’s just one problem: my left hip was so bad I couldn’t walk on a treadmill. That’s the whole reason I was getting the surgery in the first place. I could barely walk across a parking lot without pain, let alone power through a cardiac stress test on a treadmill. The irony wasn’t lost on me – I needed to prove my heart could handle hip surgery, but my hip was too damaged to take the test. So they scheduled me for what’s called a chemical stress test – a way to stress your heart without actually exercising.
The Chemical Stress Test: Two Minutes That Feel Like Forever
A chemical stress test uses medication to simulate the effects of exercise on your heart. In my case, they used a drug called regadenoson (brand name Lexiscan). Here’s how it works: they inject the drug through an IV, and it causes your coronary arteries to dilate rapidly – mimicking what happens when you exercise. This lets doctors see how blood flows through your heart under stress conditions. Here’s what they don’t fully prepare you for: those two minutes after the injection. The feeling of your heart exploding, racing, pounding – it’s intense. And you know it’s coming, which somehow makes it worse. But you also know it’ll pass quickly. After about two minutes, the worst of it subsided. They gave me a caffeine drink to help counteract the drug’s effects, and I went home thinking, “Okay, that’s done. Should be cleared for surgery soon.” I was wrong.
We Need to Do a Heart Catheter
A few days later, I got the call. Something showed up on the chemical stress test that they wanted to investigate further. They needed to do a left heart catheter. That news was devastating. Instant anxiety rush. I was worried but mostly frustrated about the delay. A heart catheter is more invasive than a stress test. They thread a thin tube (catheter) through an artery – usually in your wrist or groin – up into your heart. The wrist is preferred and thats the way it was done on me. It allows doctors to see your coronary arteries directly and check for blockages or other issues. It’s the kind of procedure that sounds scarier than it actually is, but when you’re just trying to get your hip fixed and suddenly you’re dealing with your heart, it’s frustrating. And it meant my hip surgery – which was already scheduled – had to be pushed back.
The Heart Catheter: Easier Than Expected
I’ll be honest – I was nervous going into the heart catheter. But the procedure itself turned out to be fairly easy. They used what’s called “conscious sedation” – the idea being that you’re semi-awake but relaxed during the procedure. In my case, though, I must have been more asleep than awake because I literally have no memory of the actual procedure. One minute I’m in the prep area, next thing I know, they’re waking me up and telling me it’s done. In my case, they went in through my wrist. The whole thing took about 40 minutes, and then I went home the same day. Recovery was minimal. I had to be careful with the entry wound on my wrist for a few days – keep it clean, don’t get it wet, that sort of thing. They told me not to lift anything more than 5 pounds for a bit, but otherwise, I was back to normal pretty quickly. Now came the waiting game – waiting for results, waiting to talk to a doctor, waiting to find out if I was cleared for hip surgery or if there was a bigger problem.
The Waiting – And Finally Getting Cleared
Here’s the frustrating part: I still haven’t actually talked to a doctor about the heart catheter results. No follow-up appointment. No phone call walking me through what they found. No detailed explanation of what showed up on the stress test or what the catheter revealed. What I DO know is this: they cleared me for hip replacement surgery. So whatever they saw – or didn’t see – must have been okay. The catheter must have ruled out any serious blockages or issues that would prevent me from safely having the surgery. But here’s the reality of the medical system: sometimes you get cleared without getting all the answers. The important thing is that I got the green light to move forward with my hip replacement. Still, that two-month delay was rough. Two more months of pain, limited mobility, and waiting. Two more months of managing a job that was getting harder every day. Two more months of life on hold. But at least now, finally, I could get my hip fixed.
If you’re facing hip replacement and get told you need cardiac clearance, don’t panic. For most people, it’s straightforward. But if you have any heart history – like my SVT – be prepared for the possibility of additional testing. The process might take longer than you expect. You might face delays. You might not get all the answers you want as quickly as you’d like. But if your doctors are being thorough, that’s ultimately a good thing. They want to make sure you’re safe for surgery. My advice? Build extra time into your surgery timeline if you have any cardiac history. Ask questions. Stay patient. And know that the delays – as frustrating as they are – are about keeping you safe. I’m documenting my entire left hip replacement journey here on this blog. More posts coming as I get closer to surgery day.
Leave a Reply