What Happens During A Stress Test
Are you about to do a stress test to find out how well your heart is functioning? A stress test can give valuable information to your doctor so that they can know what type of treatments are best for you. If you have never had a stress test before, you may be wondering what will happen during the test. Several steps will be taken to ensure that an accurate result is given. Here's a closer look at exactly what will happen during your stress test.
Getting Started
The first thing that will happen is that a technician will do a scan of your heart while you are resting. This means that you will need to be lying down. Doing a preliminary test of how your heart is looking before you start doing any form of activity is important. It will allow your technician and your doctor to do a comparison of what your heart looks like when you are at rest versus when you are doing activities.
The Test
An EKG machine will examine how your heart responds during the test. You will be placed on a treadmill and asked to walk at a normal pace but gradually you will need to start going faster and faster. This period of activity will last for a few minutes. The longer you stay on the treadmill the more information that will be gathered about the state of your heart.
The test is an interactive one. This means that you will be asked questions throughout the entire process. Your technician will ask you how tired you feel. You will be asked to rate how tired you are based on a scale that your technician will tell you about.
Adverse Effects
If you notice while you are on the treadmill that something feels off, you should not hesitate to tell your technician about it. If you start feeling as if you are losing your breath or you feel pains in your chest, you need to stop immediately. You may experience other unusual feelings besides shortness of breath or chest pains, you should also report these to your technician.
Now you know exactly what to expect when you take a stress test. A stress test is a great way for you and your doctor to get more information about the health of your heart so that you can start receiving treatment as soon as possible if there is a problem. If you think you need stress testing, reach out to a clinic like Alpert Zales & Castro Pediatric Cardiology.
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