All entries tagged with “stress test”
Are You Healthy Enough to Exercise?
At first glance the question seems kind of ridiculous. You are exercising to get healthy so how could exercise itself NOT be healthy? The truth is that there is some risk of having a heart attack or dying associated with exercise - unfortunately we are reminded of this after every heavy snowfall when people unaccustomed to exercise lift shovels full of wet snow and suffer a heart attack or cardiac arrest. But it is also true that those who exercise regularly can dramatically reduce their lifetime risk of having heart disease. To reconcile these two statements it is necessary to understand that there is an initial "upfront" risk associated with exercise. Once a person successfully overcomes that initial risk and continues to exercise they will then reap the health benefits associated with regular exercise. So how do you know if you are at risk when starting out? The most important red flag is the presence of any of the following symptoms- chest pain or pressure, shortness of breath, palpitations, passing out, or discomfort in the neck, jaw or arm. People who have any of these symptoms should be thoroughly evaluated by their physician prior to starting any exercise program, most likely with a stress test. For people who have no symptoms but have risk factors for coronary artery disease (age over 50, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol, family history, high blood pressure) it is reasonable to get evaluated with a stress test prior to beginning an exercise program. Other suggestions to keep exercise safe include; allowing 5-10 minutes of warm up and cool down, gradual increments in exercise intensity and duration and constant monitoring for any of the symptoms mentioned above. 
|
Meet Our Experts
CategoriesArchives
Tags |
