Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/369526
HIGHWAY HEALTH • • • By Rebecca Green. PFT • • • It's Not Your Choice 44 DrivingForceMag.com September 2014 • • • THAT'S RIGHT. You will not get to choose the day you close the chapter of your life as you know it now. It comes at the least expected moment. Unless, of course, you have a disease such as cancer; and even then the expected becomes unexpected and no one in either case will ever be fully prepared. Life is fragile and meant to be lived which is why it's so important to take care of yourself, so you can do the things you enjoy in life with the people you love. That means eating right and getting up and moving. Weather it's a walk, a hike, a bike ride – you just gotta move. Over the past decade plus, you've read the columns Mick Severin wrote and he said exactly that: eat right (or the best you can) and get up and move. Get to the doctor and know your numbers and be right with your maker. They're all important components of a life fulfi lled for your family and yourself. Mick lived the life he wrote of. You could say "he walked the talk". He ate right (for the most part – after all he was human) and exercised on a regular basis. He went to the Doctor for his regular check-ups and knew his numbers. Cholesterol: check, Blood Pressure: check, TSH (thyroid): check, PSA (prostate): check. But what we missed was that little note – the one that said "You will have your heart attack today at 5pm"! If only there would've been a way to know. Even with all the warning signs you hear of and as in tune or knowledgeable as you think you might be, it's possible to miss the signs. Some are so very subtle, but we tend to look for the big ones because we think they will slap us across the face and wake us up – well maybe not. Do you have a history of Heart Disease in your family? If so, you need to take a few extra steps in knowing your numbers and what your body is capable of. Talk to your doctor about having an Exercise Stress Test, also known as a Stress ECG or exercise electrocardiogram, treadmill test. It's used to provide information about how the heart responds to exertion. It usually involves walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike at increasing levels of diffi culty, while your heart rate and blood pressure are monitored. Your doctor uses the stress test to: 1) Determine if there is adequate blood fl ow to your heart during increasing levels of activity. 2) Evaluate the effectiveness of your heart medications to control angina and ischemia. 3) Determine the likelihood of having coronary heart disease and the need for further evaluation. 4) Check the effectiveness of procedures done to improve blood fl ow within the heart vessels in people with coronary heart disease. 5) Identify abnormal heart rhythms. 6) Help you develop a safe exercise program. There are many different types of stress tests, including: Treadmill stress test: As long as you can walk and have a normal ECG, this is normally the fi rst stress test performed. You walk on a treadmill while being monitored to see how far you walk and if you develop chest pain or changes in your ECG that suggest that your heart is not getting enough blood.