High-tech approaches have become more common in medicine to diagnose and treat a variety of ailments.
When it comes to heart health, one expert says a "back to basics" approach can be just as effective.
 
Dr. Martha Gulati of Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center has authored a paper on the use of stress testing.
 
Despite being relatively "low-tech," she says a stress test can reveal vital information about heart disease risks, such as exercise capacity, heart rate, blood pressure and chest pain.
 

 
Dr. Gulati says using imaging with stress testing is important and useful but is often overused, exposing patients to radiation without considering the consequences.
 

 
With rising health-care costs, she believes it’s critical to think about more cost-effective ways to deliver medical care.
 

 
Her hope is that her research will help patients feel empowered to ask why a test is being ordered, and also ask if it includes radiation, to ensure that the benefit outweighs the risk.
 
Dr. Gulati's paper was recently published in the journal, Current Problems in Cardiology.