Cardiovascular Testing: What Can It Tell Me?

No one needs to tell you how important your heart is. When your heart stops working, so do you. For this reason, it is important that you take steps to keep your heart as healthy as you possibly can. One way to do this is to undergo cardiac heart screenings, or cardiovascular testing.

The purpose of these screenings is to look at your heart and see if you have symptoms or are developing some form of heart disease. The goal of the screening is to find the heart disease as soon as possible, when it can be easily treated.

If you have no symptoms of developing coronary artery disease, doctors may look at the amount of cholesterol in your blood. If you have high levels of cholesterol in your blood, the result could be a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries, which can lead to blocked arteries.

Another thing that can be examined is the amount of sugar in your blood. If you have a high level of sugar or a low level of sugar in your blood, both of these things can negatively affect the functionality of your heart.
Our medical professional will examine your blood pressure. They want to know how much force your blood is exerting against the walls of your arteries. Based on the information received from the cardiovascular testing, we can determine if you need further testing, including an EKG test. An EKG is a measure of the electrical activity in your heart.

A cardiac stress test involves you exercising as hard as you can with the goal of getting your heart to beat harder. During this test, the electrical activity of your heart is monitored to make sure that you have enough blood flowing to your heart when your heart is under stress. If a medical condition makes it difficult for you to exercise, we may give you a medication that makes your heart beat hard and fast.

There are a lot of good reasons to consider cardiovascular testing. One reason is the fact that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. It is also the number one cause of disability in the United States. Depending on your age, family history, personal habits and infirmities that you are currently facing, our team at Cardiac Associates of North Jersey may encourage you to undergo cardiovascular testing, as this can tell you a lot about the condition of your heart. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at our office in Oakland.