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When a patient is having trouble with his heart, the doctor may order a heart stress test to find out what the source of the problem might be. Often there are symptoms that seem to point to a heart condition, but after a heart stress test is performed, the heart is found to be healthy and another cause of the symptoms is sought after. The heart stress tests can be performed in a variety of different ways according to the condition of the patient and the needs of the doctors in diagnosing the issues. The most common heart stress test is called the exercise stress test where the person is required to go on a treadmill or stationary bike for a period of seven to twelve minutes at an escalating level of intensity while the heart is measured through an EKG as well as rate and pressure. There are also chemical stress tests that are used for patients that are either not able to exercise due to their condition, or the doctors need more specific information through pictures of the heart.
Heart Stress Tests Options
One option in a heart stress test that does not use exercise is the dobutamine or adenosine stress test. In this test, these drugs are used to trigger the heart into acting as if it is exercising. In this way, the doctors can still see what the heart does when it is stressed without having the patient actually exercise. This can be helpful if the person has other conditions that keep him bed-ridden.
In another method of heart stress testing, there is the use of a stress echocardiogram. In this stress test, the heart is outlined through the use of ‘echo’ technology so that the doctors can see the motions of the heart while it is stressed. This is a great method to use when it has been difficult to pinpoint where the blood flow issue is in a person’s heart. By having a visual of the heart through the echocardiogram, the doctors are often able to see just where the lack of blood flow is in the heart so that they can work to correct the problem.
The final type of heart stress test is the nuclear stress test. This one seems the most dangerous because a small amount of radioactive material is injected into the patient which allows a special camera to photograph what the heart is doing. In this way the doctors can see clear pictures of the heart’s tissue and can determine what the particular problem is.
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