What is Bruce?
developed by Robert A. Bruc, Bruce Protocol is a diagnostic test given primarily as part of the cardiological test. During this unique heart function test, patients are obliged to walk on the treadmill for a total of 21 minutes at different speeds and inclination. As a result of this test, doctors are able to better detect or predict heart conditions such as angina and coronary arteries. The test is also useful in the evaluation or diagnosis of lung diseases. While other exercise tests are sometimes administered, doctors consider Bruce a thorough precise tool in the diagnosis of cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
During the Bruce protocol, stratients are tested in seven different stages, each consisting of three -minute intervals. In the earliest phase, the patient is asked to go through the treadmill at a slow pace with a lower slope while being connected to the tools usedTo record such vital features such as blood pressure and heart rate. As the test proceeds, the inclination slowly increases, as well as the speed of the treadmill. The total time spent by Bruce is to be 21 minutes unless the patient is able to complete the test for chest pain, dizziness, extreme fatigue or drastic changes in blood pressure. If one of these conditions occurs, the test will stop immediately.
Electrocardiographs are checked after each phase in the test to monitor the heart function, and the patient's blood pressure is also periodically evaluated. Also, it is not uncommon for the test to stop before completion due to feedback received from medical instruments used to monitor the vital features of the patient. While vital signs can indicate that the patient is in real risk if the exercise continues, tests are often stopped because of the otherwise healthy lack of physical fitness of the patient, which literally prohibits the physical completion of all seven fThe bruce protocol.
Whether Bruce is stopped due to the vital functions of the patient or physical inability to complete it, monitoring the heart and blood pressure continues for several minutes. Such help doctors understand the changes that take place in the cardiovascular system of a person after a strict exercise. After a few minutes immediately after the test, patients may still feel dizziness or shortness of breath, and the heart of the arrhythmia may still occur.