Heart Health
Ask the doctor: Yearly stress test
Routine stress testing in healthy, active individuals without symptoms is now discouraged. The reason for the shift is that it is not clear that such a screening approach in low-risk, otherwise healthy individuals reduces their risk of heart attack or death. In fact, the concern is that such testing leads to procedures such as stents and bypass surgery, resulting in increased health care costs without clear evidence of benefit. If cardiovascular risk factors such as high cholesterol and hypertension are being appropriately treated, exercise stress tests may not add much incremental, actionable information.
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