Cardiac stress test

The cardiac stress test is a physical exercise on a treadmill. The treadmill exercise test is performed to discover abnormal heart beat, decrease in oxygen supply to the heart muscle, amount of blood to and from the heart, indicate coronary artery disease and overall cardiovascular condition of the patient.

Preparations

Avoid a heavy meal 2 hours prior to the test. Also avoid any form of physical stress (e.g biking) before the scheduled test.

The exam

Once on the treadmill your blood pressure will be measured continually during the activity and your heart rate will be monitored via attached electrodes. What the technician needs you to do is to perform a maximum effort on the treadmill. Programming of the treadmill will allow continuously changes in speed and slope automatically Finally it is up to you to decide when the test has to end although the technician will stimulate you to perform maximally. The test takes approximately one hour. There are little risks if you follow instructions carefully. However, most patients find exercise esting stressful and strenuous.

The results

You will get the results from your doctor, not from the technician, at the next appointment. If there is an acute situation, the technician will immediately inform the doctor for further management.