Exercise Stress Test

If you’re dealing with fatigue, chest pressure, tightness or trouble breathing, it’s important to figure out what’s wrong. “Stress test is usually one of the first tests we do in cardiology when we suspect that there might be an issue with how the heart is getting blood flow,” said Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Vladimir Ilic.
A stress test assesses cardiac performance under exertion. It can help reveal heart problems that may not show up when your body is at rest. Traditionally patients are monitored while walking on a treadmill. “Typically we're going to place the EKG leads on your chest, we're going to do the blood pressure monitoring, and we're going to start with the typical test routine which includes increasing speed and incline of the treadmill,” said Dr. Ilic.
About 50% of stress tests are now done with through a pharmacological approach. “We inject medication which simulates what would happen if a patient would walk on a treadmill, and then we use a radionuclide tracer to get a scan of the heart, which is going to tell us how's the heart muscle getting blood flow. Is there any impediment to the flow?”
Cardiologists are looking for changes between base and exertion. “If you do have symptoms during the exertion, you start to experience pressure, tightness, significant trouble breathing, EKG changes, significant changes in blood pressure, that might indicate that heart might not be getting enough blood flow,” said Dr. Ilic. They may then recommend additional testing or interventions. Your cardiologist will know which test is best for you. You can learn more by searching for stress test on leehealth.org.
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