Stress Testing Services
It usually involves walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike at increasing levels of difficulty, while your electrocardiogram, heart rate and blood pressure are monitored.
Stress Testing at Cumberland Medical Center
The exercise stress test (also called a stress test, exercise electrocardiogram, treadmill test, graded exercise test, or stress ECG) is a test used to provide information about how your heart responds to exertion. It usually involves walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike at increasing levels of difficulty, while your electrocardiogram, heart rate, and blood pressure are monitored.
Why Do I Need a Stress Test?
Your doctor uses the stress test to:
- Determine if there is adequate blood flow to your heart during increasing levels of activity
- Evaluate the effectiveness of your heart medications to control angina and ischemia
- Determine the likelihood of having coronary heart disease and the need for further evaluation
- Check the effectiveness of procedures done to improve blood flow within the heart vessels in people with coronary heart disease
- Identify abnormal heart rhythms
- Help you develop a safe exercise program
What Are the Types of Stress Tests?
There are many different types of stress tests.
Treadmill Stress Test
As long as you can walk and have a normal ECG, this is normally the first stress test performed. You walk on a treadmill while being monitored to see how far you walk and if you develop chest pain or changes in your ECG that suggest that your heart is not getting enough blood.
Dobutamine or Adenosine Stress Test
This test is used in people who are unable to exercise. A drug is given to make your heart respond as if you were exercising. This way the doctor can still determine how the heart responds to stress, but no exercise is required.
Stress Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram (often called “echo”) is a graphic outline of your heart’s movement. A stress echo can accurately visualize the motion of your heart’s walls and pumping action when the heart is stressed; it may reveal a lack of blood flow that isn’t always apparent on other heart tests.
Nuclear Stress Test
This test helps to determine which parts of your heart are healthy and function normally and which are not. A small amount of radioactive substance is injected into you. Then the doctor uses a special camera to identify the rays emitted from the substance within the body; this produces clear pictures of the heart tissue on a monitor. These pictures are done both at rest and after exercise.
Using this technique, a less-than-normal amount of thallium will be seen in those areas of the heart that have a decreased blood supply.
How Do I Prepare for My Stress Test
Preparation for your stress test will vary depending on which type you are undergoing. Ask your doctor about any specific instructions.
Cardiology Services Offered at Cumberland Medical Center
Cumberland Medical Center brings a wide array of cardiology services close to home for the residents of the Cumberland Plateau.
Our cardiology offerings include:
