I went to the hospital to check for coronary heart disease, but the doctor put me on a “treadmill”, why?

Lao Zhang is in his 50s this year. He has smoked for more than 20 years and has high blood lipids, but his body has not been abnormal, and he has not been well controlled. But recently, when the activity increases, he always feels tightness in his chest, which will be relieved after resting for a while.

Fearing that he had coronary heart disease, he went to the hospital to check his heart, but after the doctor attached some equipment to him, he put him on a “treadmill” to run. Afterwards, Lao Zhang muttered to Hua Zi that he would have chest tightness and uncomfortable when he was active too much. Why did the doctor let him go for a run?

I. Diagnosis of coronary heart disease

Hua Zi told Lao Zhang that judging from his symptoms, it may be myocardial ischemia. It means that the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart have atherosclerosis and narrowing. If the degree of coronary stenosis is greater than 50%, it can be diagnosed as coronary heart disease.

The “gold standard” for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease is coronary CT and coronary angiography, but both methods are invasive and require injection of contrast agents, which have certain risks , and the high cost is unacceptable for many patients.

However, for people with no obvious symptoms of myocardial ischemia and unable to diagnose, it is necessary to allow the patient to perform exercise to stimulate the manifestation of myocardial ischemia to assist in the diagnosis. This diagnostic method is the exercise treadmill test. .

Second, why “running” is necessary to diagnose heart disease

Exercise treadmill test, refers to the patient under the monitoring of blood pressure and ECG equipment, on a treadmill-like tablet, exercise according to the plan set by the doctor strong>. This is an easy, non-invasive, and inexpensive way to check.

During exercise, the muscles need more blood supply, which will increase the load on the heart. When the load on the heart increases, the oxygen consumption will increase, and it will also need more blood supply.

If the coronary artery is narrowed and the supply of blood and oxygen is insufficient, it will cause myocardial cells to undergo anaerobic glycolysis, produce lactic acid, stimulate the cardiac nerves, produce chest tightness, chest pain, and make People are forced to rest and stop exercising.

3. What is the function of exercise treadmill test

Many people with coronary heart disease do not have any abnormality in the routine electrocardiogram, and myocardial ischemia can be stimulated by exercise treadmill test, can be initially screened for coronary heart disease. People who have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease can also evaluate the treatment effect through regular exercise treadmill test, and adjust the treatment plan.

Exercise can raise blood pressure, but high blood pressure during exercise may be an early sign of high blood pressure. By monitoring the heart rate during exercise and the degree of recovery of the heart rate after exercise, it is possible to judgment whether the cardiac sympathetic nerve is overexcited, to assess whether the prognosis of coronary heart disease is good, and to assess whether the There are cases of autonomic dysfunction.

Fourth, don’t “run” to check your body by yourself

Exercise treadmill test is very simple, as long as running can assess whether there is a problem with the heart, but It is not recommended for people with chest tightness, chest pain and high risk of coronary heart disease to use exercise to check their body strong>, if angina pectoris is induced and there is no corresponding treatment measures, it may be dangerous.

In the early stage of acute myocardial infarction, symptoms similar to angina pectoris can also occur. If exercise at this time, it will further increase the burden on the heart and increase the risk of death.

In addition to acute myocardial infarction, uncontrolled heart failure, arrhythmias, pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection, aortic stenosis, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, severe hypertension, active Myocarditis, pericarditis, electrolyte imbalance and other diseases are contraindications to exercise treadmill test.

Exercise treadmill test is only suitable for hospitals. After the contraindications are ruled out by the doctor, the exercise should be carried out under strict monitoring. If danger occurs, there are also complete rescue equipment. , can guarantee safety.

To sum up, going to the hospital to check the heart, the “treadmill” that the doctor asked to use is a treadmill test, which is a non-invasive, low-risk and low-cost auxiliary examination method in cardiology. Common methods of screening for early coronary heart disease, escort for health. I am Huazi, a pharmacist. Welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.