Having already survived one heart attack, she immediately went to see Dr. Gulati. To their surprise, tests involving high-tech imaging showed that Barbara's heart was normal.
But the exercise stress test told a different story.
"We found very significant disease," said Dr. Gulati. "In fact, it required having a stent placed in one coronary artery immediately and, subsequently, required another one placed just recently."
Given the subtlety of her symptoms, Barbara was surprised at the extent of her disease. "I really didn't think it had anything to do with my heart," she said, "I'm so very fortunately I took that stress test."
When it comes to diagnosing heart disease, experts like Dr. Martha Gulati of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center are cautioning against relying too heavily on high-tech imaging, and are touting the benefits of a nearly hundred-year-old heart test, instead. Developed the same time as air conditioned office buildings and sliced bread, the exercise stress test is still an essential tool in medicine that, some say, can be just as effective and even more efficient that newer tests.
(Photo Credit: Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center)
A nurse at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center gives a woman an exercise stress test.
(Photo Credit: Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center)
Source: MediaSource