If you are above the age of 40, your doctor may suggest you have a cardiac stress test. Even if no symptoms are identified it’s still an excellent way to detect any problems early, making it a preventive measure. It’s critical to catch problems as quickly as possible because that’s when you have a better chance of a successful treatment and more options available. The treatment will become more difficult and critical, the more advanced the condition is. If you haven’t yet had a stress test, then ask for one and make sure you join forces with your doctor.
Sometimes having to take a stress test doesn’t mean that you have a heart condition. For visualization purposes, think of a pipe feeding a pump and it’s clogged up the little. Then assume that the pump is not working properly, and making strange noises to boot. If your doctor your something that does not sound healthy, the stress test is something he or she may order. Clogged veins and arteries are very common in the United States, something due to our diet and lifestyle. Most of the time, physicians are not going to have you do a test for no reason at all. Sometimes a stress test on a treadmill may be ordered and accompany your annual physical or checkup. This is not a nuclear stress test, and radioactive dye is not involved at all.
The state of litigation in the US makes all medical professionals take protective measures so they’re not sued. Unfortunately, doctors will order cardiac imaging tests and stress tests for this reason even if the patient appears completely healthy. Minor angina and heart palpitations can be caused by a variety of unrelated issues so keep that in mind. Heavy coffee drinking and smoking can also cause angina, as well as chronic stress. Even the writer of this article will not tell you to avoid a stress test if you’re feeling good otherwise. Make your decisions, plus use professional medical advice always with your best interests in mind.
To get images of your heart, people often be given radioactive chemicals called isotopes. The doctors, after injecting the chemicals into the patient’s bloodstream, will watch with specialized imaging equipment in their office. They can see your heart because of the light or energy emitted from the radioactive material. The flow of blood in and out of your heart is made possible because of the radioactive material illuminating everything. They can see the blood flow if it stops. This would mean blockages are in place. The blood in your body, and how it pumps through your heart, will be clearly shown. They can also measure the efficiency of your heart, which is actually just a pump in your body.
On a lighter note, the mere fact that the doctor is telling you to take a stress test, it means you’re healthy enough to do it. If this is what is happening, then you should feel positive in some way. Your physician can then take those test results and help you with whatever problems you may have.