Archives: July 2022
What Is a Stress Test, and Why Is It Important?
If you’ve experienced chest pain or palpitations or your primary care physician or cardiologist believes you are at significant risk of arterial blockage, you may be referred for a stress test. Stress testing is a very common, informative, and non-invasive diagnostic procedure to learn more about how your heart is functioning.
The mechanism by which stress testing works is in the name. By putting physical stress on the heart, we can measure how it reacts at rest and after strain is placed on it with exercise. We can also gauge the heart’s reaction after that stressful event. Typically stress tests will involve the patient walking on a treadmill or exercising on a stationary bike for some time to increase their heart rate.
By doing this, we can learn more about:
Is Sodium Really That Bad for Your Heart?
It’s a piece of advice that we’ve all heard. Reduce your sodium to improve your heart health. But does sodium truly affect your heart, or is this advice now outdated? First, let’s discuss sodium and its importance to the body. Sodium is a common mineral and represents an essential part of the proper functioning of our bodies. Without sodium, we wouldn’t be able to live, so before continuing, it’s important to understand that it wouldn’t be healthy or practical to eliminate sodium from our lives. However, most of us consume far too much sodium, typically in the form of salt.