Life Healthcare is a leading private hospital operator in South Africa and primarily serves the market for privately insured individuals, representing approximately eight million people. The group provides mainly acute care, high technology private hospital services.
Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital is a large Provincial government funded hospital situated in central Mthatha in South Africa. It is a tertiary teaching hospital and forms part of the Mthatha Hospital Complex.
The extensive hospital network includes 64 hospitals (of which 57 are majority owned by Life Healthcare and another seven in which the group holds substantial minority ownership), providing a range of healthcare services throughout South Africa.
This is a medical test that combines spirometry and ergometry. Spiroergometry just as in spirometry, measures the lung volumes and the ventilation size. However, physical stress is added to the examination usually by riding an ergometer such as a stationary bicycle.
What instruments are used in a spiroergometry?
Two instruments are used during a spiroergometry; a spirometer and an ergometer.
A spirometer is used in spirometry. This is a test which measures how much air you can exhale in one forced breath and aids in diagnosing and monitoring lung conditions.
An ergometer is use in ergometry. This is the study of physical activity that involves testing using equipment such as treadmills, rowing machines or stationary bicycles.
Why spiroergometry is carried out?
Spiroergometry is commonly used to diagnose cardiovascular and lung conditions or diseases. It can also be used by athletes in sports medicine for performance diagnostics. If your present symptoms a heart or lung disease or your doctor suspects the same he may recommend a spiroergometry.
A spiroergometry is carried out when disorders or symptoms such as shortness of breath or sharp chest pain are absent at rest and they can only be seen during physical stress. During a spiroergometry changes in heart function and cardio respiratory fitness are observed, examined and assessed.
Sign and symptoms that require a spiroergometry
High blood pressure
Coronary heart disease (CHD)
Heart failure
Bradycardia
Chronotropic incompetence
Valvular heart disease
Cardiac arrhythmia
After heart surgery
How is the procedure performed?
The procedure may be performed by a nurse or doctor at your GP surgery or it may be carried out during a short visit to a hospital or clinic
During this procedure, you will be subjected to physical stress similar as for stress-EKG. This is usually done on an ergometer such as a treadmill or stationary bicycle.
You will be wearing a face mask that is connected to a measuring device by a tube. This will measure and graphically display the ventilation size and lung volume.
The doctor will attach several electrodes to your skin on the back and chest area and a blood pressure cuff will be applied to your upper left arm. This is done so as to be able to record an ECG while at rest and also during exercise.
The resistance of the ergometer is increased at regular interval until the exercise limit is achieved. However, the exercise is topped if the determined limit of heart rate or blood pressure is exceeded or if breathing difficulties occur.
If any difficulties occur or the exercise limit is attained, you should keep on with the exercise without effort for several more minutes. This helps to detect complaints which occur a short time after physical stress.
This will help the doctor in diagnosing you and in telling whether there are restrictive ventilation disorders (lung volume is reduced) or obstructive ventilation disorders (there is constriction or displacement in the respiratory tract).
During the procedure, the heart rate, cardiac rhythm and blood pressure are recorded and an ECG is produced.
How long does a spiroergometry last?
A spiroergometry takes approximately one hour.
About Spiro-Ergometry
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