People that have to do cardiac stress test tend to worry. Yet these tests are very short and non-obtrusive. The test is over before you know it, and the only thing you’ll regret is the exercise (especially if you’re out of shape!).
They can see what is happening with your heart once it is stressed. It is a necessary component of the test itself. Anytime you stress a system, you’ll get a much more accurate state of how healthy it is. A quick overview of specific and general cardiac stress tests will be discussed in this article.
Have you ever heard of a nuclear stress test? This is a test on the patient’s heart in order to determine how healthy it really is. If your heart is healthy, then it will take up more radioactive material than given during a test. Remember that the heart itself is a muscle. This means that it will absorb blood within its walls and that the blood is in high quantities.
If the flow of blood is reduced, due to clogged arteries for instance, then there will be less radioactive material seen in the heart walls. As you can see, the nuclear stress test can prove to be very useful. It will also show where extreme blockages are which will show up as a very poor blood flow through the heart itself.
Every now and then, different situations with the cardiovascular system may pop up. Patients will typically need a stress test win some kind of medication has to be prescribed. If you are taking medication, and you have to take a stress test, it’s usually done to monitor the situation. It’s not unusual for doses to be adjusted or even the decision to try a different medication. Diagnosing whether or not improvements have been made can only be shown through tests for your heart. Every person is different, each with a different condition, which may require different stress tests to evaluate the results. Anyone that had heart surgery will undergo a stress test at some point to see how they are doing. The doctor can see how successful, or unsuccessful, the treatment actually was.
If you have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, getting a second opinion really can’t hurt. It’s always better to get a second opinion if you’re not sure about the first one you were given. This matters and you need to know that few if any tests are 100% accurate and reliable 100% of the time. More than likely, if your cardiologist or physician is thinking in your best interest, they will have you do a second opinion. In most cases, doctors try to avoid being sued at all costs. In order to be conservative and safe, the second doctor will often agree with the diagnosis of the first physician. It is in your best interest to repeat the image diagnostic tests or stress test that you took to make sure all of the results are on par.
Staying healthy is everything! If you can take care of yourself adequately, you will never need a stress test to monitor your condition. Having severe stress in your life can actually cause conditions like angina to appear. This does not mean you have a serious problem, but definitely something to check out. External factors can produce symptoms that seem debilitating, but it’s just your body reacting to stress.