Stats: 39 years old, 275 lbs - BMI 39ish, lift 3-4 times week, 1-2 days of cardio outside of what is prescribed on training days, usually HIIT.
TL;DR
ANS tests? Good, bad, mobility scooter?
How accurate are ANS tests? I was given a full diagnostic at a sleep apnea follow up - I was not told at the time the purpose of the test and in retrospect would have preferred to not have been given the results Ankle & wrist cuffs were used along with pads on the bottom of my feet hooked up a to laptop. I was instructed to lay down for 10 minutes or so and every few minutes held my breath for set periods of time while the various pressure cuffs were inflated. The pressure cuffs were also used when i stood up after the test. The test was performed by a non-licensed (not required in my state) sleep technician.
Most of the information I gleaned about similar ANS tests is positive but also from advertising offers to sell the software to medical practitioners. The only two tests that seemed to have a lot information beyond advertising the software was for the ankle brachial index and HRV. The former suggested calcification in my legs, the latter suggests my heart rate variability is equivalent to an asthmatic 80 years old man per the charts I found. My PCP does not use similar testing and his office did not have much more information to offer. They were unwilling (over the phone at least) to give a referral to see if my results - really the ankle brachial index - warranted more testing.
Additionally, per the test, I have the fitness level of 3% (out of 100) with a compromised athletic recovery and (not actually said) an immediate future of using mobility scooters. I can’t find a reference range for most of the tests per the TM-Flow Report and can’t really find any useful information (to me) via google with the nomenclature & scoring used for the tests, for example: endothelial homeostatic insulin resistance; heart artery blood flow; coagulation; vascular tone. They also calculated my body fat % based on my BMI, I guess???That may actually be accurate as I am abnormally fat per their chart, I also consumed half of a 16 oz zero ultra monster drink before the test, as I was not informed to fast that morning, from what little I can gather caffeine may effect testing based blood pressure cuff measurements.
The sleep apnea doc gave me the finding and told me that I likely had calcification in my legs & that I need to start blood pressure medicine (my pcp does not agree, although I kind of think my blood pressure is high too but it has been about the same for most of my life since early adolescence 130-140 over 80-90 range.) The doc actually glossed over my actual sleep study results and briefly indicated I had low-to-moderate sleep apnea but l likely slept much better in my own bed so the results were probably skewed at the sleep lab.
Thanks - and sorry for my lack of brevity.
. I appreciate the responses. I tried to make light of it but I was a little anxious about the tests and watching you & JF on youtube talking about unnecessary testing was reassuring but just wanted to double check.