AFT – Patient Information
What is the Autonomic Nervous System?
The autonomic nervous system (ANS or visceralnervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system
functioning largely below the level of consciousness, and controls visceral functions. The ANS
affects heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, salivation, perspiration, diameter of the pupils,
micturition (urination), and sexual arousal. Whereas most of its actions are involuntary, some,
such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind.
It is classically divided into two subsystems: the parasympathetic nervous system and
sympathetic nervous system.
What is the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)? The parasympathetic nervous
system is a division of the autonomic nervous system. The actions of the parasympathetic
nervous system can be summarized as "rest and digest". They include body functions like
digestion and urination.
What is the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)? The sympathetic nervous system is
another part of the autonomic nervous system. The action of the SNS regulates the
“housekeeping” processes, such as tightening blood vessels when you stand up and increasing
heart rate and force of the heartbeat when you exercise. It is sometimes referred to as “flight or
fight”.
What is included during an autonomic testing session? Autonomic testing is
designed to determine how well your body is regulating your blood pressure and heart rate,
and sometimes other functions. During these tests, your heart rate is measured using an
electrocardiogram and your blood pressure using a cuff around your arm or finger. The tests
include asking you to breathe deeply for two minutes, breathing as fast and as hard as you can
for 30 seconds, maintaining a handgrip for 3 minutes, breathing against pressure for 15 seconds
and placing your hand in ice water for 1 minute. All these tests are meant to stimulate your
autonomic nervous system to produce changes in blood pressure and heart rate of short
duration that reflect how well your involuntary nervous system is working.
- Vasoscan
What is Vasoscan: Vasoscan is a device which produces an accurate assessment of vascular elasticity and stiffnessof the arteries, peripheral blood circulation, stress levels, as well as the coronary health of “ at risk” patients. It isdesigned to analyze the ANS ( Autonomic Nervous System) function.
How is the test done: It is a Non-Invasive 3 minute test, which uses an infrared light finger probe and measuresone’s pulse wave.
How does it work? A pulse wave occurs when the heart pumps and it generates a contour wave that travels alongthe arterial wall and indicates pulsations of the chest wall which is followed by the heartbeat. It determines thecoronary health of at-risk patients in approximately three minutes. It also assesses the ability of the circulatorysystem to tolerate emotional and physical stresses.
What does it tell my doctor? It can provides objective data to help assess disorders such as Depression, Anxiety,Sleep Disorder, Poor Concentration, Mental/physical stress degree, chronic fatigue, and blood circulation.
When will I get the results? The final interpretation of the test results is available within a week. Your physicianwill schedule a follow up appointment with you to go over the results.
Why should I have this test? VasoScan offers another screen that can be used in conjunction with and EKG or ECGtests to quickly assess the potential of a patient to develop plaque build-up in their arterial walls. Plaque buildupin the arteries can inhibit blood flow and could lead to stroke and heart attack. The cholesterol plaques ofatherosclerosis are the primary cause of heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral arterial disease. These conditionstogether are called cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer in America, causing morethan an estimated 900,000 deaths each year.
SudoScan:
What is SudoScan? SudoScan is a device that tests for neuropathy.
Neuropathy is a nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system.
How is the test done? Patient stands on a sensor plate, and places their hands on
another sensor plate. They stand still for two minutes, and the machine does the
work.
How does it work? The SudoScan device emits a tiny pulse of current to the hands
and feet. The current is painless, but strong enough to stimulate the sweat glands to
release chloride ions. The device then measures the levels of chlorine ions.
What does the test tell my doctor? Your doctor can determine the degree of neuropathy and develop a
treatment plan for the neuropathy. As treatment progresses, the test can be repeated at three months to
check on the effectiveness of the treatment. It can be repeated annually to check for development or
progression of neuropathy.
Is it painful? The pulses are so small that it is not painful.
When will I get the results? The final interpretation of the test results is available within a week. Your
physician will schedule a follow up appointment with you to go over the results.
Why should I have this test? Neuropathy is a serious condition. The SudoScan offers your doctor a way to
measure the presence of neuropathy, and to track its progression. From that, he can come up with a treatment plan to help relieve your symptoms. This test is non-invasive, pain-free, and fast.
- Intellawave
What is Intellewave? IntelleWave system is a fully automated cardiac monitoring device that
provides quantitative assessment of Heart Rate Variability.
- Heart rate variability (HRV) Is the speeding and slowing of the heart rate and it is controlled
by the Autonomic Nervous System that contains 2 branches. One branch is
responsible for increasing your heart rate while the other slows it down.
How is the test done? The test consists of placing 4 electrodes on specific parts of the body,
while having the patient lay down (depending on their heart rate-5min) and then asking them
to stand up for avg. time of 3 min. Then you will be asked to sit up right for 2 min followed by
minimum of 2 deep breaths and each breath must be held in. After that you will continue to
breathe in deeply and exhale until the test is complete.
What does the test tell my doctor? In the medical field IntelleWave system can be used by your
health-care provider to objectively confirm or exclude cases of Cardiovascular
Autonomic Neuropathy (CAN), Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy (DAN) and other diseases or
malfunctions of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).
When will I get the results? The final interpretation of the test results is available within a
week. Your physician will schedule a follow up appointment with you to go over the results.