New Delhi: A religious pilgrimage, the Kailash Mansarovar trek will be open soon and it involves undertaking a challenging trip around Mount Kailash and visiting Lake Mansarovar. Not only does it require a good deal of physical fitness and stamina, but also a healthy heart. For this, a cardiac stress test is recommended. For a fit person who walks fast, this trek can take 15 hours to complete. But keeping altitude sickness and conditions in mind, doctors recommended a stress test.
What is a cardiac stress test?
A cardiac stress test is also known as an exercise stress test. It measures how well the heart works while undertaking physical activity. This can help with the diagnosis of heart problems like angina, heart failure, and coronary artery disease.
Why is a cardiac stress test important before going for Kailash Mansarovar trek?
The cardiac stress test is usually recommended by the doctor to evaluate cardiac performance and indirectly overall cardiovascular health under stress. The commonly performed cardiac stress test is ECG ECG-based exercise stress test (walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle). In select individuals who cannot exercise, echo echo-based pharmacological stress test (dobutamine stress Echo) is performed. The echocardiography-based dobutamine stress test involves capturing ultrasound images (echocardiography) of the heart while the patients are advised to engage in physical activities (e.g. running on a treadmill or riding an exercise bike) or administered graded infusion of dobutamine (in individuals who cannot engage in physical exercise), said Dr Ashish Mishra, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road.
Overall, the cardiac stress test helps to stimulate the stress of exertion. Stress test helps detect abnormalities in the functioning of the heart especially reduced blood flow secondary to significant coronary artery disease (CAD). Subtle abnormalities may not be visible when your body is at rest. Undergoing a cardiac stress test as a part of a routine check-up before high-altitude treks like Kailash Mansarovar is recommended in individuals at risk.
At high altitudes, your heart has to work harder to ensure enough supply of oxygen to the body, especially when you are engaged in strenuous activities like hiking in the resence of low atmospheric oxygen (hypnotic hypoxia). Acute coronary syndrome (heart attack), heart failure, or arrhythmias can precipitate when you are involved in intense activities like hiking. The cardiac stress test helps to early identify such at-risk individuals and tailor therapy.
For a trek as challenging as that of Kailash Mansarovar, doctors say a cardiac stress test is a must. But why? Read here. Health News Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
