Since he retired, Frank Fear became a regular at the gym. Now he works at his health.

“My father died very young from heart-related problems,” says Fear.

Leaving nothing to chance, Frank followed his doctor’s advice and decided to take his well-being to heart.

“Preventative cardiology is one of the exciting areas that we’re looking at,” says Dr. Lynne Einbinder, who is a cardiologist with Lee Memorial Health System.

Dr. Einbinder works with a panel of tests that bundled together provide a cardiac snapshot.

“The nice thing about these tests is that they’re non-invasive. There’s going to be no discomfort with them, they can be done in one setting, they’re quick and easy and they can give us a great insight into the heart,” says Dr. Einbinder.

Cardio screenings are not just for the faint of heart. Experts advise people get a baseline screening to find problems before they become a serious issue.

“If we find a condition many times we can treat it before there’s damage. Because in the case of a heart attack or a stroke, once the damage is done, we can’t get that tissue back,” says Dr. Einbinder.

Three tests focus on the circulatory system: ultrasounds of the aorta, carotid artery and an ankle-brachial index. While blood pressure, echocardiogram and EKG tests look at the heart; getting the EKG/stress test seems to carry the most anxiety.

“I was basically on a treadmill and they increased the speed and I had to keep up - and they monitored everything electronically,” says Fear.

The stress test looks at the heart during activity, using a treadmill or medications to elevate heart rate.

“Most people have had that at some point in their lives, but even though it’s a simple test it can give us a lot of information. It can look for heart arrhythmias, it can look for irregular heartbeats,” says Dr. Einbinder.

“I wouldn’t call it stressful but it was demanding,” says Fear.

The takeaway: getting a thorough heart screening is far less stressful than facing a serious cardio condition.



View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org

свернуть