I applied to a police agency. Passed the polygraph and now I have a stress test. What is that? Another polygraph?

AN Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 22:34:07 -0400

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jul 9 at 2020 11:02 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 23:02:15 -0400

It may be part of a pre-offer physical assessment, just like it sounds, a stress test. They wire you up and put you on a tread mill to test your heart.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 10 at 2020 2:13 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 02:13:14 -0400

It's another indicator of how they'd expect you to do in a physical sense, hence worth the investment. Typically four increasing levels on the treadmill which BP and EKG are recorded. Nowadays, they stick an oximeter on your finger to see how the O2 saturation is holding up as well. They're able to calculate if your heart age and condition is commensurate with your physical age. They decided to do one on me when I made O-6 as I hit "that age". After a few minutes on stage 4, the Doc simply turned everything off and said he didn't need to spend more time looking at me being fine. The other reason they do this is liability. Having a prospective officer drop dead during training is bad press at a minimum. You'll see this test for varied firefighter programs. They call it Maximal Exercise Training.

Response by SSG Laurie Mullen made Jul 12 at 2020 1:01 AM

SSG Laurie Mullen — Sun, 12 Jul 2020 01:01:29 -0400

I was already working for a law enforcement department when I needed to have a stress test done. My blood pressure had gone up into the stroke-or-croak zone so my doctor did one me. He didn't do it on a treadmill, but used another method to get my heart rate up and then see how fast it came back down. I passed it with flying colors. Don't worry about it. You'll be fine and if they do find something it's better to know so you and your doctor can address the issue. There are plenty of law enforcement officers who have high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid issues and so on. Take care of whatever health issues that may develop and keep up with a fitness plan. Staying fit will reduce your stress and aid you in controlling whatever health issues may come up as you get older. Good luck!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2022 8:37 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 20:37:11 -0400

A voice stress test is another form of poly…not sure whether is a voice stress test or a medical stress test