“I am a 37 year old man. How often should I do a treadmill test to know my fitness levels?”
I am a 37 year old man. Though my diet is in control and I have a good lifestyle, my exercise levels are quite low. I recently underwent a TMT as a part of office routine test. The examiner told me that my fitness levels are low. How often should I undergo a TMT test to keep a tab on my fitness levels?
7 Answers
Provided you are not on certain medications, do not smoke, do not have any other underlying conditions, do not indulge in recreational substances, if you start exercising daily or every other days (with intermittent high intensity training), you should start getting well conditioned. Your highest heart rate achieved during exercise for a few minutes at a time can range between 140-155 beats per minute. All the best.
Mark Rasak
Cardiologist
Unless you have a very high-risk profile such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, family history, etc., you don't. You do need to get a trainer and hit the gym so you can safely improve your exercise tolerance and your fitness level.
There is no need to test on a treadmill – regular hill walking and monitoring your progress is a much better test.
Once a year
If you do not have major risk factors for premature coronary artery disease such as diabetes mellitus, systemic hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, family history of premature CAD or sudden cardiac death, “age 40-70,” etc., and no known family history of cardiomyopathy, means in the absence of any of these factors, I don’t believe you need to have a stress test until you are at least 50 years or older when you carry two major risk factors, “age and gender.”
Julia G. Ansari
Cardiologist
TMT is not a test that you just get done every few months or years for assessment of fitness level, and it is supposed to be used on patients with intermediate risk of coronary disease who have an active symptoms of exertional chest pain or SOB. Instead you should exercise 3-4 days a week for a minimum of 20-30 minutes to increase your exercise capacity.
If you are feeling ok and have a normal exercise tolerance and have no major risk factors that would merit more intense monitoring, then you don’t need to do stress tests at all. Just listen to your body and make sure you eat properly, don’t smoke, get a good night’s sleep, and exercise regularly.
