WHAT WE DO

ANSAR'S non-invasive Autonomic Nervous System Monitoring is good for people with:

• Post-MI & other cardiac conditions
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Neurologic problems
• Syncope
• Pregnancy
• Anxiety/Stress
• Circulation Problems
  

Your nervous system is comprised of three parts: your somatic (sensory) nervous system, your motor nervous system, and your autonomic nervous system (ANS). Your ANS is that part of your nervous system which functions to sustain your life by helping control your heart, lungs, digestive system, blood pressure, immune system, certain of your reflexes (like coughing and gagging), fluid balance, pupil diameter, sweating, and sexual function.

There are two parts, or branches, to your ANS: the sympathetic branch and the parasympathetic branch. Generally, the sympathetic branch is more in control when you are stressed, nervous, or excited, while the parasympathetic branch is more in control when you are relaxing, sleeping, or recovering from an illness or injury.

A balance between the two branches of your ANS is essential for good health. In fact, most illnesses and injuries cause or result from an imbalance between these two branches. An imbalance in your ANS can tell your doctor many things about how healthy you are as well as what can be done to keep you as healthy as possible.

Autonomic nervous system monitoring is a fast, non-invasive, and simple way to provide your doctor with information to help him or her determine how healthy you are. Monitoring your ANS, when measured frequently like your blood pressure and heart rate, can help your docotr keep you healthy. Information is collected from an easy, painless test that can be done in your doctor's office or in a hospital.

The ANS monitoring test is non-invasive. This means that there are no needle or probes or anything else that needs to enter your body. The test is completely painless, and for most it is relaxing.

ANS monitoring records your heart rate variability and respiratory activity. Blood pressure readings are also taken. Your heart rate variability and respiratory activity are analyzed by a computer to determine how your ANS is controlling your heart and your lungs and other parts of your body. Your physician then interprets your results produced by the computer.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of your heart's ability to quickly respond to changes in your level of activity. Moderate variability is healthy. Too much or too little is unhealthy. ANS monitoring using HRV can provide your doctor with infomation that cannot be seen using other measures, for example on an EKG recording.

Analyzing your respiratory activity along with your HRV is the key to monitoring the balance between the two branches of your autonomic nervous system.

Everyone is different, and so is their autonomic nervous system. How an individual responds to disease, injury, medicines, and medical treatment largely depends on her or his ANS. By monitoring your ANS, your doctor can determine whether she or he is doing enough to keep you healthy. In this way, your doctor can better care for you and better maintain your well-being.

Everyone from newborns to older adults can and should have their ANS monitored. Frequent monitoring, when indicated, helps your doctor better maintain your health & well-being and tailor treatments, including medications, specifically for you.

The ANS exam is a simple test that is preformed in your doctor's office. You can take the test even if you have an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator.

A nurse or technician applies two or three small, painless pads (called leads) to your chest and places a blood pressure cuff on your left arm. The computer will measure your heart rate variability and respiratory activity. Most of the test is taken while you are seated comfortably in a chair. The entire test takes less than 30 minutes.

The exam includes several parts. It monitors you while you are relaxed, while you are breathing deeply, while you are straining(this is called a valsalva maneuver), and while you are standing. A nurse or technician will guide you through the test.

ECG and blood pressure monitors are connected to a computer. The computer analyzes the data from these two monitors. and computes your test results in digital fashion (that is, three numbers). These numbers help your doctor understand your autonomic nervous system and its role in your health. One number represents your entire autonomic nervous system, one number represents the sympathetic branch of your ANS, while the third number represents the parasympathetic branch of your ANS.

How these number change during the different parts of the test and how they change over time as you grow and age provides your doctor with information she or he needs to keep you as healthy as possible.

The computer will prepare a report for your doctor, who will discuss the results with you.

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