Stress Test: Testing Blood Flow to Your Heart

You may need a stress test if you’ve had chest pains, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of limited blood flow to your heart. A stress test helps show whether enough blood flows to your heart when it’s working hard.

Stress testing helps diagnose coronary artery disease or to determine the seriousness in those previously diagnosed with it.

Some other factors when a stress test may be needed:

  • you have diabetes
  • recently had a heart attack to check treatment status
  • you show signs of an arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)
  • faint, rapid heartbeat or fluttering chest during exercise

Standard exercise stress tests use EKGs (electrocardiograms), and breathing and blood pressure monitoring to assess blood flow in the heart.

Imaging stress tests, such as those that use echocardiography, radioactive dyes, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), show how well blood is flowing in heart muscle. Imaging stress tests tend to be more accurate than standard exercise tests.

Stress testing is not a routine screening, usually it is only ordered if you have some symptoms or disease putting you at risk of CAD.

Your health status will always be closely monitored during a stress test, and you will not have to exercise more than you think you can handle. Stress tests are safe and have few side effects. The chance of a stress test causing a heart attack or death is only about 1 in 5,000.

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