Exercising heart rate check during physical?

As part of the employment perks we were allowed to book an annual medical paid for by the company if we so wished. At one such medical I was wired up to an ECG machine and told to exercise on a treadmill. The doctor told me not to run but to walk quickly to keep up with the machine which he set at a fairly steep incline. I use treadmills frequently but normally just run on the flat or a gentle incline, and although just walking the steep incline did test me and I quickly became hot and my heart rate increased significantly. But I passed the test anyway....

I hope this does not give my play doctor "ideas" although he does know how to raise my heart rate in other ways!

I had a 60-something year old friend who worked out religiously and ran marathons. I don't remember exactly was his resting heart rate was but it was very low. During his stress test he claimed didn't break 100 BPM. Had to wear a heart monitor for a week or so, and apparently nothing was wrong - he just had a really efficient pump!

I never had to exercise for a heart rate check other than for a stress test. In the Navy they did a stress test at NAMI but I don't recall exercising or stress tests for my annual physical.

I had something like this done at all my sports physicals (which were big group ones at my school) and something like it done at a couple of my private doctors in my teens.

The school ones for sports were divided into sections: a fitness/conditioning section, then two medical sections with the first part of the medical section being spread out over several stations set up in the gym and the second part of it being in the school health office where the main doctors would sign off. Anyway, for the fitness/conditioning section - which was always first - they told us to change into gym clothes. At the last station for the fitness stuff, we were told to take off our shirts and run a lap around the gym, then our hearts, lungs were listened to.

A couple of years, they had an actual treadmill test where we got on the treadmill hooked up to the heart monitor.

Years ago, I started getting chest pains during bouts of stress. I was bicycling 13 km to and from work each day. I worked in a major hospital at the time as part of the repair and maintenance dept. I was casual friends with my family doctor at the time and we shared our enjoyment of long distance bicycling. He sent me for an ECG stress test. The head of the Cardiology Dept. stepped in to supervise the test, and kept the test going until I reached 225 b.p.m. I looked over at the tech; who looked really as stressed as I was.... The cardiologist stopped the test shortly after, with a quick pat on my shoulder and 'stay safe on the roads'. I've had only one ECG stress test since, and the supervising doctor only let me get my heart rate to 155. I've never found these tests in the least arousing.

I've heard of metabolic test where an electronic thermometer is inserted anally to monitor core temperature, the mental image is amusing and titilating. Imagine the patient having to work out while the leads from the thermometer can be felt through their anus and jiggling between their butt cheeks.

When I played basketball, it happened at every physical exam. The doctor would first take our blood pressure and listen carefully to the resting heart, then we would run in place for a few minutes and then sit on the EKG table. Then (same now), my heart would beat and very fast as soon as I saw the stethoscope, but I still had to run in place before the EKG. That's why my pulse on the EKG would usually be very high, but they never told me anything about that.

Once the doctor listened to my heart for a whole minute and counted about 115 beats and then told me to do 30 push-ups and listened to my heart again for a whole minute.

I thought at that moment that my pulse was over 200, I was close, the pulse was around 180, but the doctor didn't tell me anything and I could train without hindrance.

René Goscinny, a famous French Comics book writer ( he created Astérix back in the 60's) died in 1977, at 51, doing a bicycle stress test at his cardiologist's office.

Yes, I had similar testing in high school sport physicals. Nurse advised to strip to my underwear. Doctor did the normal exam routine. Then he would always have me stand in front of the exam table and reach to the ceiling, then touch my toes. Did the “airplane” moves from side to side. Then the “duck walk” and then jumping jacks and run in place. He also timed the movements. I do not recall if he retested the lung portion afterwards or not. I kind of doubt it. I never had this again until a exam for a job in my 30's.

I’ve never done exercises in a real physical, only in a play exam.

By the time I was a teen my chronic asthma was was in retreat mode. I am very convinced my.symptoms were attributed to the fact I was in foster care since childhood. Until I was 11 when my adopted parents took me in my health (up until that point) was not monitored properly. I was damaged goods both mentally and physically. In the years moving forward I became healthier, more stable and confident due to the fact I went to good home with people who loved me and cared about my well being.

I saw my doctor for my annual physical before my first year of High School. I made a decision to join the cross country team (a big step for me) so my doctor gave me a pulmonary function test. I also had to run in place for a few minutes after which she listened to my heart and lungs. She said I was finally kicking my asthma's ass but to hang onto my inhaler just in case.

This was also my adoption physical exam which (regretfully so) required a rectal examination - it was in the paperwork so it had to be done

At my last physical the doctor had me run in place while listening to my heart after listening to it sitting on the table, then after he did the rest of the physical he listened to heart again, and had me run in place for about 5 minutes, stop and lay on table to listen again and then repeated it once more. Said it sounds good just a rather elevated heart rate resting and will likely repeat it at the next physical.

Only during a planned stress test - wired up to an EKG with medical techs - and a doctor within earshot!

I have never had this as part of a medical exam but I did have quite a few times over the years when exercising with trainers where we would do heart rate monitoring work on the bike to build cardio endurance. For many years I wore a heart rate monitor while exercising (and still wear a Fitbit though it isn’t super accurate).

It is amazing to me just how much your heart rate will tell you …. Both from how fast it goes up but also how fast down. At one point I could pretty accurately predict an oncoming cold just by how my heartrate was responding.