Recently, I went to get my physical. I thought I was in pretty good shape. I knew I did not exercise enough, but I ate fairly healthily, slept well, and did not drink to excess or smoke. What could go wrong? To my surprise, quite a bit. I have an unusually thorough doctor. A normal physician might not have caught my problems, but the one I had insisted on doing a stress test. You see, I had just had my 42nd birthday. Heart disease runs in my family, so he thought it was important to measure my cardiac performance. Stress tests do just that.
If you have never had a stress test, is not an experience to relish. It is somewhat creepy and humiliating as a matter of fact. They put you on a treadmill, hook you up to machines, and measure all of your vital signs as you are put through strenuous physical activities. They exercise test, however, is not simply a fitness test. It is much more important than that. Even if you are physically fit, there can be hidden signs of deteriorating heart conditions. The heart stress test, for example, can detect decreased blood flow through the arteries, heart murmurs, palpitations, and other serious problems.
Of course, I was familiar with the idea of a stress test, but I had never been subject to one before. In my line of work, you see, stress tests are used to diagnose something very different than cardiac problems. I actually design programs to test web applications and computer networking systems to see how they perform under various stresses. It might surprise you to hear it, but computerized systems can break down in the same way that people can. Put enough stress on any system and, if it has a weakness in it, that weakness will cause it to fail.
When the weakness is in your heart, however, it is much more alarming than some flaw in a computer network! My stress test was not disastrous, but it was not pleasant either. Apparently, I had moderately severe hardening of the arteries. Although it wasn't enough to warrant surgery, it did worry my doctor. I had to go on a special medical diet, take cholesterol pills, and start undergoing a special exercise routine to build up my cardiac health. I guess I'm glad that I got that cardiac tests, but it wasn't pleasant to hear the bad news. I just hope that the doctor's suggestions are enough!
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