How Stress Testing Is Changing The Medical World

How Stress Testing Is Changing The Medical World

Did you know every year, 17 million cardiovascular deaths take place? Pretty crazy, right? Sometimes such deaths occur because the disease wasn’t identified on time.

However, with pharmacological stress testing, everyone’s life is easier with its low maintenance nature and the ability to catch any heart problem in a short span.

The rise in the awareness of heart-related problems has especially led to the popularity of such a phenomenon.

Stress testing is one of the most feasible and cost-effective heart-related tests out there. The tests are the type of noninvasive imaging tests and are also preferred by medical professionals.

Take a deeper look at what the test is, its potential benefits, and how it’s making things easier.

What’s Stress Testing

Stress testing is aimed at assessing one’s heartbeat during any physical activity, hence called stress testing.

For instance, when you exercise, your heart pumps faster than when in a normal routine. A stress test will examine this heartbeat and determine if the rate or velocity at which it’s pumping is normal or abnormal.

If one is unable to exercise due to their health, the medical professionals will give them a medicine that does the job of exercise, and then the test is carried out.

Stress Testing

Stress tests are usually done when there is limited blood flow to your heart. Your heart is getting limited blood flow if there is some type of discomfort or even pain in your heart, usually referred to as Angina.

The shortness of breath is also related to the shortage of blood flow. Moreover, the heart’s inconsistent fluttering, also known as arrhythmia, is another sign of irregular blood flow to one’s heart.

Besides all these numerous factors, stress testing is also necessary if you’re planning to participate in an exercise program or if there’s a genetic repetition of heart diseases/problems in your family.

Stress tests come in various forms. The three most famous ones are nuclear stress tests, stress echocardiograms, and a simple stress test. Usually, stress tests are performed in a professional clinic, a hospital, or the health care provider’s main office.

Advantages Of Stress Testing

Besides the reasons mentioned above for carrying out stress testing, this type of exam comes packed with significant benefits that not only have short-term benefits but also help the patient in the long run.

Some of these benefits include:

Determines The Success of Heart Procedure

The main purpose of a stress test is to assess the performance of the patient’s heart. This serves many purposes, including determining the success of a potential heart procedure. Carrying out a heart procedure is not an everyday activity. It’s quite risky.

Success of Heart Procedure

Therefore, you must get the upper hand, and a stress test will determine just that. It will make sure your heart can survive surgery, and after the procedure, it will discover its effectiveness.

Evaluates Heart Pumping

The rhythm and activity of your heart are important things to take into account. If abnormal pumping is detected during the test, severe action will have to be taken to avoid any fatal problems in the future.

Takes into Account The Blood Flow

It’s important to assess how effective your heart is in pumping blood frequently.

The Blood Flow

Besides the rate of pumping, stress testing will also identify the different heart areas that are receiving blood and those that are not.

If it’s found that the heart is pumping little or insufficient blood, then this can be a huge sign of heart failure or other diseases.

Helps Detect Heart-Related Problems

A stress test is usually done to detect any fatal heart problems that the patient might have.

Even if, before the test, you’re having difficulty in breathing or random chest pains, which are symptoms of something being wrong with your heart, a stress test will confirm a heart condition in such cases.

Assess The Size Of Heart Chambers

It’s important to know whether your heart is of normal size or not, and a stress test will tell you just that.

The bigger the chamber size, the more dangerous it is to your health. Therefore, there’s no harm in getting your heart checked here and there to be on the safe side.

The Size Of Heart Chambers

How to Prepare For A Stress Test

One has to take a few precautionary steps before going for a stress test.

These steps include:

Avoiding Caffeine

Any sort of caffeine should be avoided at least 24 hours before a stress test. You should not drink coffee, tea, and even energy drinks. Over-the-counter medications are also to be avoided.

Avoiding Caffeine

Stop Taking Prescriptions on the Day of Your Test

Certain prescriptions are not to be consumed on the day of your test. Medicines like beta-blockers and asthma inhalers are also not recommended for consumption, especially on the day of the test.

Keeping Yourself Covered in Comfortable Clothes

Make sure you make yourself comfortable when it comes to your clothing and your shoe-wear. Therefore, wear a comfy tee-shirt and some jeans with a pair of shoes that you feel good in.

Relaxing

This is one of the most important points to remember. The experience you go through will depend upon how easy-going you’re.

Relaxing

Therefore, to avoid a traumatic experience, it’s better to calm down and go in with a light head.

The Market For Stress Testing Equipment

The awareness regarding stress tests is at an all-time high. Especially with the different types available everywhere, the tests are easier to go through and easily accessible.

The pandemic also made everyone extremely conscious about their health, and since then, the demand for such tests has been at an ever-increasing high.

The Bottom Line

Due to its low capital cost and feasibility, stress testing has been a favorite among healthcare providers along with patients.

And the demand is pretty justified too.

Therefore, if you’re looking to get your hands on a particular stress test device, take a look at what AKW Medical has to offer. The 30 years of experience make the company an apparent choice!

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AKW Medical Team