What is a Heart Stress Test?
Stress is a feeling in the human body that is created when we react to particular events. There is both good stress and bad stress, and everyone responds to stress differently. A bit of stress in life is normal and should be expected, but there is a point at which it becomes too much and when something needs to be done in order to relieve it.
Stress results in causing both physical and emotional effects and can create both positive and negative feelings. Negatively it can result in feelings of depression and low self esteem, and various physical problems including ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, rashes, insomnia, and even stroke.
Heart Stress Test
One of the best ways to determine just how much stress you are under and what negative effects if any it is having on your body is to have a heart stress test done. A heart stress test is a medical test which is performed to evaluate arterial blood flow to the heart muscle during physical exercise compared to blood flow while the heart muscle is at rest.
For this test to be performed the patient will either need to walk on a treadmill or be given an intravenous medication that stimulates exercise. During this time the patient will be connected to an electrocardiogram machine. An attending medical professional will be there to record the patient's symptoms and blood pressure response and use these results to determine their stress level.
Benefits
There are many benefits offered by a heart stress test. For one it is very valuable in diagnosing ischemic heart disease, which is a disease that occurs when a person has blockages in the arteries that supply their heart with blood.
Dealing With Your Stress
Whether your heart stress test comes back positive or not, if you have a problem with stress it is important that you take it seriously and deal with it appropriately. The association between stress and health problems is very strong and significant. The effects of stress on heart disease more than anything are concerning, and stress can certainly influence the activity of the heart when it activates the sympathetic nervous system.
There are many effective ways to relieve your stress, including using relaxation exercises and techniques to help calm and relax the body and mind. This includes yoga and meditation, two exercises which focus on breathing techniques to focus the mind and relax the body.
