If you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease, or if your doctor suspects you may be at risk for developing this condition, they’ll recommend a battery of tests and evaluations to assess the health of your cardiovascular system. If your doctor prescribes a stress test, here’s what you can expect during the appointment.

A Stress Test Primer

What Is It?

A stress test is a cardiovascular exam that allows a doctor to monitor and measure your heart’s ability to respond to external factors in a controlled period of increasingly challenging exercise, usually on a treadmill. During this evaluation, the doctor will record several different factors, including your breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, heartbeat, and any exhaustion caused by the exercise.

Who Needs One?

Stress tests are commonly administered to individuals diagnosed with or recovering from heart disease. A doctor may schedule one if you’re experiencing an irregular heartbeat or a reduced flow of blood to the heart. If you have heart disease, a stress test will help a doctor evaluate how well your medications and treatments are working and if additional testing or other medical interventions need consideration.

What’s It Like?

A stress test begins with hooking a patient up to equipment that monitors heart function. Next, you’ll walk in place on a treadmill to establish a baseline for your exam. After this, your doctor will alternate speeds and inclines. At intervals, you’ll be required to walk faster or up a steeper slope. You may also have to breathe into a tube for a couple of minutes to record additional measurements of your heart function under stress as you exercise. Once completed, you’ll sit or lie down and have your blood pressure taken.

Residents of Dothan, AL, and the nearby communities of Andalusia, Ozark, Enterprise, trust their heart health to the doctors at Premier Cardiology Consultants. For more than 25 years, their cardiologists have provided the diagnostic services you need to combat heart disease, including stress tests, ultrasounds, and echocardiograms. To learn more about how you can take better care of your cardiovascular system, visit them online, or call (334) 699-6396 to schedule an appointment for an evaluation.