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Exercise ECG; ECG - exercise treadmill; EKG - exercise treadmill; Stress ECG; Exercise electrocardiography; Stress test - exercise treadmill
An exercise stress test is a screening tool used to test the effect of exercise on your heart.
See also:
This test is done at a medical center or physician's office.
The technician will place 10 flat, sticky patches called electrodes on your chest. These are attached to an ECG monitor that follows the electrical activity of your heart during the test.
You will walk on a treadmill or pedal on an exercise bicycle. Slowly, you will be asked to walk (or pedal) faster and on an incline. It is like walking fast or jogging up a hill.
While you exercise, the activity of your heart is measured with an electrocardiogram (ECG), and your blood pressure readings are taken.
The test continues until:
You will be monitored for 10 - 15 minutes after exercising, or until your heart rate returns to baseline. The total time of the test is around 60 minutes.
You must not eat, smoke, or drink beverages containing caffeine or alcohol for 3 hours (or more) before the test.
Wear comfortable shoes and loose clothing to allow you to exercise.
Ask your health care provider if you should take any of your regular medicines on the day of the test. Some medicines may interfere with test results. Never stop taking any medicine without first talking to your doctor.
Tell your doctor if you are taking sildenafil citrate (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra) and have taken a dose within the past 24 to 48 hours.
You will need to avoid caffeine for 24 hours before the test. This includes:
Electrodes (conductive patches) will be placed on your chest to record the heart's activity. The preparation of the electrode sites on your chest may produce a mild burning or stinging sensation.
The blood pressure cuff on your arm will be inflated every few minutes, producing a squeezing sensation that may feel tight. Baseline measurements of heart rate and blood pressure will be taken before exercise starts.
You will start walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bicycle. The pace and incline of the treadmill (or the pedaling resistance) will slowly be increased.
Sometimes, people experience some of the following during the test:
An exercise test is most often done to evaluate for coronary artery disease.
Reasons why an exercise stress test may be performed include:
There may be other reasons why your health care provider requests this test.
Chaitman BR. Exercise stress testing. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, Libby P, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2011:chap 14.
Fraker TD Jr, Fihn SD, Gibbons RJ, Abrams J, Chatterjee K, Daley J, et al. 2007 chronic angina focused update of the ACC/AHA 2002 Guidelines for the management of patients with chronic stable angina: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines Writing Group to develop the focused update of the 2002 Guidelines for the management of patients with chronic stable angina. Circulation. 2007;116:2762-2772.
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