What is a stress test?
A stress test is one of the many tools at Qtest Diagnostics that are used in our “patient first” approach. With advanced, well-maintained equipment run by dedicated professionals, the stress test is conducted using a treadmill. Hence it is also called a Treadmill Test (TMT). It helps your doctor and you understand how your heart performs under stress i.e. when it has to pump more blood. Thus, this test can help determine if there is a lack of blood flow based on how tired you get.
What is monitored?
In a stress test several things are monitored. Firstly, using leads, your electrocardiogram is plotted, measured, analysed and monitored. Next, your heart rate is determined. And lastly, as your heart pumps faster OR as it fails to keep up with your energy demands, it will cause less or more pressure in your arteries and veins. Hence blood pressure is also monitored.
What is the use of the treadmill?
When you are hooked onto all the monitors for measurements, you are asked to walk on the treadmill. The speed of the treadmill can also be changed to make the patient walk faster or slower. Sometimes, it is also given an inclination. This makes the patient feel like she or he is walking uphill. Therefore this is also called the treadmill test.
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The Biology
When your body works, it expends energy in the muscles. This energy is in the form of ATP – Adenosine triphosphate, the energy currency of the cell. This ATP is generated and used up in the mitochondria – also known as the powerhouse of the cell.
When you use up energy, a part of the same is due to oxidation. This means the body and muscles need oxygen to function properly. Now, oxygen is found everywhere in the air, and we breathe it in using the respiratory system i.e. through the nose into the lungs.
From the lungs, oxygen molecules are picked up by our red blood cells. This is with the help of haemoglobin. Thus, red blood cells, which form the major component of our blood transport oxygen to various cells.
But how do they do that? How do the red blood cells send oxygen to all the parts of the body? Simple! They are pumped there by none other than the subject of this blog post – the heart!
The heart thus pumps the blood and hence the oxygen to all the muscles to help them move, and to breathe faster, and to cool the body by sweating. So, the more activity you engage in, the more energy you burn, and the more oxygen you need. That is why you become “out of breath” after some time.
The condition of your heart thus determines your stamina and the stress test tries to mimic the same.
Uses
The stress test is thus used to:
a. Determine adequate blood flow levels, and their absence or presence in your body.
b. If you suffer from heart ailments like angina and ischemia, whether the medications are effective and useful. Your doctor can then thus alter the medication.
c. It also helps determine if you are susceptible to coronary heart disease. If necessary further tests can be given.
d. This is also used as a verification test. If a patient has undergone heart surgery or procedures such as bypasses, this test is used. It checks if the procedures have been effective to improve the blood flow.
e. It helps identify abnormal heart rhythms.
g. It can also be used by your dietician or gym trainer to devise better exercise regimens.
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