Cardiac stress training is basically a process to examine the heart health of the patient. It is performed to analyse patients for the risk of a CVD i.e. cardio vascular disease.
In the cardiac stress training, the patient is made to either walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike. Over time, the intensity of the exercise is increased so that the patient’s heart requires more oxygen and that it pumps harder.
This allows the doctors to study how the heart will respond it the arteries are blocked or narrowed.During the course of this examination, various factors of the patient, like the ECG waveforms, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation are monitored.
Bruce Protocol is one of the most widely used cardiac stress training. This protocol basically employs a treadmill and is a combination of seven different stages. Each stage is 3 minutes long and varies from the other in terms of the speed and inclination of the treadmill. The treadmill is halted if the patient achieves the maximum permissible heart rate. Most patients fail to move beyond the 3rd or 4th stage.
During a cardiac stress training, the blood pressure is monitored at 2 minutes into each stage. It is crucial to get accurate measurements of blood pressureto reach a valid diagnosis of CVD.
Disadvantages Of Aneroid Blood Pressure Monitors
While most cardiac stress testing protocols still employ a manual BP monitor, there are more than a handful disadvantages of using the aneroid one.
1. Environmental Noise–During the treadmill test, there is great noiseand it becomes difficult to differentiate between a korotk off sound and a foot strike on the treadmill. Hence the manual monitors may fail to alarm at the desired times.
2. Poor Technique–Improper cuff size and rapid deflation rate may lead to inaccurate readings of blood pressure during the cardiac stress testing. A wrong cuff size can report afaultyincrease in the BP readings by 10mmHg.
3. Patient Focus–The manual BP monitors require too much time and attention of the stress technician. This forces the stress tech to focus more on the aneroid devicethan the patient and it is not favourable for the patient’s well-being.
Why Opt For Automated BP Monitor?
An automated blood pressure device is an ideal solution to accurately measure a patient’s blood pressure during the cardiac stress testing. It overcomes the difficulties of the manual monitor and helps in accurately reporting of cardio vascular diseasesif any.
These automated monitors have been designed to enhance the accuracy of BP measurements. They have settings for both frequency and duration.Also, in a crisis situation when the stress technicianneeds to access the BP readings, the automated machines fetchand display all past results for comparison and proper analysis of the patient’s condition.
The AccuraPulse automated wrist cuff blood pressure monitor is the most recommended one. It can be adjusted to the patient’s wrist while he/she undergoes the cardiac stress testing. It displays highly trusted blood pressure readings that the doctors can then use to advise and prescribe medications to the CVD patients.