So, you’re booked for a cardiac stress test. Terrified?
You’ve been booked for a cardiac stress test and you’re scared silly. Relax. Been there, done that. It’s okay.
The cardiac stress test is an ingenious way of getting your heart to reveal it’s secrets, if it has any. In this article, you will learn what it is for and why you should not be nervous about taking it.
You remember what the doctor said but, somehow, you are not reassured. Are they going to cut you open? Wouldn’t it just be simpler for you to go home and cut down on the beer and pizza? What if something “shows up”?
Heart disease can be very hard to diagnose sometimes, especially in women. My cardiac stress test showed I had one foot in the grave and the other foot on a banana peel and I felt fine!
To properly assess your heart, it must be made to work a bit. This tells the whole story. This is why you often hear of people having heart attacks when they are doing something.
A reading of between 140/90 and 90/60 is considered normal. Any readings over those and your doctor will want to investigate further. Consider any concerns your doctor has as blessings. Many people don’t find out till it’s too late that there are problems. Remember, your blood pressure is only an indicator of your overall well-being.
If your blood pressure is between 90/60 and 140/90, you can consider yourself in the normal range. Any higher than that and your doctor will be concerned, thus the cardiac stress test. Don’t consider your appointment a curse. Heart disease is sneaky and can pounce at any time leaving you confused, if you survive. You’ll be asking, “where did that come from?”
Sometimes your arterial system may be on the verge of a major breakdown and there is no way of finding out without stressing the system a bit. This is what the cardiac stress test does. It’s like your mechanic taking your car for a test drive to confirm what you told him the problem was. The test is painless. There is not much to it and the technicians are not sadists. They are there to help you work your body a bit so that any shortfalls will become apparent.
Unlike a broken bone, heart problems can hide right near the surface of your life and you could be totally unaware of it. Using the cardiac stress test, kind, well trained technicians put your body through its paces a bit so that any problems will stick out like a sore thumb. Don’t worry, they are not going to make you run the Iron Man contest.
The people administering the test are trained to make you feel comfortable. Don’t worry, they have seen bodies that are, shall we say, a bit short of perfect before. If you are nervous, tell them so. They are trained to help you with that too.
Slowly, the technicians will make you work a little harder all the while watching your vitals signs like a hawk. Their goal is to make your heart work a little harder and, if it is hiding any secrets, force it to reveal them before you find out the hard way that there are problems.
The results of the test will be analyzed. If any problems show up, don’t get discouraged. Consider it a gift. There are all kinds of treatments and processes nowadays to help or cure what might have shown up. Smoking raises blood pressure. Your doctor might prescribe help to quit. If stress is a big factor in your life, make sure your doctor points you in the right direction for anxiety treatment.
Consider your cardiac stress test a blessing, whether it finds anything or not. It’s one of those “pay me now or pay me later” scenarios. Either way you win.