Laura San Giacomo - The Christ Hospital

Don’tstress overthis test© 2009 Bruno Budrovic/GettyImagesIn the world of business, a stress test might be atally of pencils with chewed-off erasers. In theworld of medicine, a stress test—known technicallyas an “exercise tolerance test’’—is a tally ofheart rate, blood pressure and other signs or symptomsthat indicate your heart’s ability to deliver blood tohard-working muscles.Usually recommended for people who have cardiacrisk factors, chest pain suspected to be angina orwho’ve had an abnormal electrocardiogram, a stresstest helps physicians diagnose coronary artery diseaseby showing whether the heart is getting enoughoxygen during physical activity. The test may berecommended for certain people before starting anexercise program. The American Heart Associationestimates that 3 million to 4 million Americans havesilent ischemia, a symptomless condition in whichthe heart doesn’t get enough oxygen, causing a heartattack or sudden cardiac death during exercise.In addition to telling physicians whether youcan exercise safely, a stress test can help physiciansset exercise limits for patients who have heart diseaseor have undergone heart surgery. The test doesgive a fairly high number of false-positive resultsin women, so be sure to discuss this with yourphysician.A word of warningA true cardiovascular stress test is a medicalprocedure. While some health clubs offer stresstesting, medical knowledge and training arerequired to accurately interpret the test results.In addition, few health clubs carry the kind ofemergency resuscitation equipment that’s necessaryin case serious cardiac problems developduring the test.Get heart healthy!Talk with your physician about your cardiovascularhealth risks. If you need a physician,call The Christ Hospital’s physician referral lineat 513-585-1000.How the test is doneA stress test involves an electrocardiogram(ECG) together with heart rate and blood pressuremonitoring while the patient exercises at increasinglydemanding levels. Most specialists prefer atreadmill that’s programmed to gradually increase inspeed and degree of incline.Dressed in comfortable clothing and wearingsneakers, the patient is hooked up to an ECGmachine with electrodes. A blood pressure cuffis wrapped around the patient’s arm. The patientbegins to walk on the treadmill—easily at first, thenwith more effort as the speed and inclination areincreased.The test continues until the individual reacheshis or her maximum level of exertion. If blood pressuredrops or heart rhythm abnormalities areobserved, the test is stopped immediately. WHTwww.womenshealthexperience.com 21