Your cardiovascular system involves your heart, lungs, blood vessels, and more. Each component of this vital system offers indicators of good or bad function — that is, doctors have lots of ways to measure cardiovascular health.
At Heart & Vascular Institute, with four Michigan locations, we offer an array of tests to assess your health, depending on your symptoms and situation.
Our expert care providers know which tests to suggest whether you have conditions such as shortness of breath, chest pain, or leg pain or need testing based on age and medical history.
A Bio-Z test might not sound familiar, but it can provide important information about how well your heart pumps.
A Bio-Z test is a quick and painless test. Your provider places sensors on your neck and chest and transmits a small electrical signal through them.
That signal tells your doctor how much blood your heart pumps in a minute, how much resistance is in your blood vessels — more resistance means your heart must work harder — and how much fluid is in your chest, which also increases the workload for your heart.
The whole thing takes 5-10 minutes. The information gathered during the test is analyzed using software, and your doctor interprets the info to make decisions about your treatment.
We commonly recommend Bio-Z tests for our patients to find out what might be causing shortness of breath. The Bio-Z test also shows how much fluid is in your chest, which can indicate congestive heart failure.
A Bio-Z test can also help your provider understand how to treat hypertension. If you have high blood pressure and medication hasn’t brought it down sufficiently, we may want more information to more precisely treat you.
Existing treatments for congestive heart failure and high blood pressure are effective. But sometimes, it takes specialized diagnostic tests such as a Bio-Z test for your provider to know exactly how to approach those treatments.
Choosing the most appropriate medications or suggesting specific lifestyle changes often requires detailed information.
If your provider wants you to take a Bio-Z test, know that it won’t hurt, doesn’t take long, and won’t require any recovery — you can go right back to your normal activities. The test informs your treatment to help you reach the best level of health you can.
If you’d like to discuss a Bio-Z test or any of our other cardiovascular services, schedule an appointment by phone or online today at the Heart & Vascular Institute location near you.
