The Importance of Stress Testing

Every day, people are realizing just how important it is for them to take steps to protect their cardiovascular health. Stress testing is an excellent way to determine the condition of your heart and if you have or are at risk of developing heart disease.

Stress testing is performed by a medical professional. They will monitor just how much your heart can manage before you start to exhibit abnormal heart rhythms or before the flow of blood to your heart starts to diminish.

There are multiple types of stress testing for your heart. Probably the most commonly known is the exercise stress test. It tells our doctor how your heart responds to being pushed to the limit. During the test, you will either walk or run on a treadmill. As the test progresses, it will increase in difficulty. Your heart rate, blood pressure and electrocardiogram will all be monitored throughout the entire procedure. Other types of tests include the echo stress test and the nuclear stress test.

You may ask why would I need this type of test? Our doctor may recommend this type of test if you are dealing with chest pain, shortness of breath or irregular heart palpitations. The documentation is used to determine if your heart is pumping enough blood. Stress testing on your heart is a great way for doctors to see if the medications they are prescribing for your heart conditions are working or to see if you have any coronary heart disease in the first place.

If you have asthma or some other respiratory condition that requires you to use an inhaler, you should bring it with you during the test. It is imperative that you do not stop using your inhaler or that you not stop taking heart medication without talking to a doctor first.

Before stress testing starts, our doctor is going to measure your standing heart rate and look at your blood pressure. Then you’re going to start to exercise. The exercise routine is going to gradually get more difficult. The goal is to push you to exercise until you are exhausted. This information will then be used by our doctor to evaluate the health of your heart.

Make an appointment at Cardiac Associates of North Jersey to learn more about how stress testing can benefit you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at our office in Oakland.