How Are Pulmonary Stress Tests and Pulmonary Monitoring Different

When you’re struggling to breathe or have a breathing disorder, the diagnostic tools can help uncover what’s going on, so you can breathe easier. 

At Respacare in Bridgewater, New Jersey, our pulmonary specialists, Dr. Nehal Mehta and Dr. Prashant Patel, use the latest diagnostic technology to evaluate your lung function to guide treatment decisions.  

Two of the most common tools we use are the pulmonary stress test and the pulmonary monitoring. Here’s what you need to know and how they work.

What is a pulmonary stress test?

A pulmonary stress test measures how well your lungs perform during physical activity. As your muscles demand more oxygen and nutrients during exercise, your lungs and heart must work harder to meet this demand. The test helps us determine how well your respiratory system handles the added demand. 

We perform the test at the office. We place a pulse oximeter on your finger to measure blood oxygen levels and have you breathe through a special mask. We also attach electrodes to your chest, so we can monitor heart function.

You exercise on a treadmill or a stationary bike. You start at a slow pace, and we slowly increase intensity until you reach your target heart rate or you experience pain or discomfort. After the workout, we take blood samples. 

Results from a pulmonary stress test can tell us exactly where your breathing issues start, so we know how to address them.

What is pulmonary monitoring?

Pulmonary monitoring is a tool that continuously monitors lung health while you go about your usual routine. It’s a type of telehealth called remote patient monitoring that allows us to track you from a distance. 

You wear special sensors that attach to your clothes that collect breathing and heart rate data, which downloads to a special home health hub and transmits the information to our team.

We use pulmonary monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of our treatment plan. We may also recommend remote monitoring if we need to collect more information following a pulmonary stress test to better understand your lung function. 

It gives us a long-term view of your respiratory health in the real world, not just the clinical setting.

Key differences between testing and monitoring

The data provided by the pulmonary stress test and pulmonary monitoring is valuable and helps us develop an effective and personalized treatment plan. But there are some key differences between the two tools.

First, the stress test is a one-time test completed at the office. It gives us a snapshot of your lung health at one point in time. Though helpful, it may not tell the whole story. 

Pulmonary monitoring provides health information over time, giving us a better understanding of how we can manage your breathing disorder based on your normal level of activity.

Another difference between the two tests is that the pulmonary stress test is often used to diagnose conditions, while the monitoring tool helps us manage respiratory conditions. 

When we recommend them

We may recommend a pulmonary stress test if you feel short of breath and don’t know why. We also suggest the one-time test for patients with breathing disorders, so we can get a sense of the severity of the disease. 

We offer remote pulmonary monitoring for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Monitoring is also beneficial for people with chronic breathing disorders who have a respiratory infection like the flu or COVID-19.

Pulmonary stress tests and pulmonary monitoring are diagnostic tools that help us better understand your breathing issue, so we can create an effective treatment plan. If you feel short of breath or you’re having a hard time managing your asthma or COPD, we can help. 

Call us today or request an appointment online.