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What is a Stress Test?
· In this test, the patient walks on a treadmill or pedals an exercise bike at increasingly higher levels of exertion.
· This is done because some problems occur when the person is doing a certain activity and not at rest.
· When doing an exercise, the heart needs more blood and energy and if it doesn't get that, there is chest pain, shortness of breath or dizziness. If this occurs to the patient, the problem is found and treatment is started
· While the patient does so, the patient's heart rhythm, blood pressure and sometimes how much oxygen the patient is taking in is monitored
· It is very safe, reliable, non-invasive, less expensive to do
What is it used for?
· It is used when someone comes in with Chest Pain
· It tells the doctor how severe Coronary Artery Disease is in a patient
· Checks to see if the drugs used to treat chest pain are working or not.
· It is used to screen people who are interested in starting an exercise program
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