Cardiac Stress test

Cardiac Stress Test: What, How and why it is performed?

3 years ago

Cardiac stress a term composed of two words- cardiac means heart and stress means the hard conditions. The Cardiac stress test is a test that checks the working of the heart during hard times like physical activity. It examines the problems occurring in the pumping of blood flow during physical exercises. The cardiac stress test is also known as the stress test, exercise test, or treadmill test.

How cardiac stress is done?

The cardiac stress test takes about an hour, including both the preparation time and the time it takes to administer the actual test. The final test only takes about 15 minutes. The patient is allowed to have a tension check while walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bicycle. If they are unable to do exercise, an intravenous drug that mimics exercise so as to increase blood flow to the heart is given to the patient.

Why Cardiac stress is used?

A cardiologist may recommend a Stress test to examine the conditions like coronary artery disease, irregular heart rate, and other heart diseases or disorders.

Coronary Artery Disease: Coronary artery disease occurs when a coronary artery carrying blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the heart got damaged due to plaque formation.

Irregular Heart Rate: Sometimes, the heart beats very fast and sometimes slow due to improper functioning of electrical impulses that coordinate with heart rhythm. The irregular heart rate is called as Arrhythmias.

Your Cardiologist may take a stress test to decide the right time of cardiac surgery, heart transplant, and other surgeries. A more advanced nuclear stress test or echocardiographic test may also be suggested by the doctor if he is not able to diagnose the problem from the stress test.

Risks associated with Cardiac stress test

Stress tests are generally safe and secure as they are performed under the supervision of experts and doctors but some minor risks may occur during the test are chest pain, collapsing, fainting, heart attack, irregular heartbeat.

Before undergoing a stress test, always notify your cardiologist before the test about the medications you are taking as in some cases, the drug can interfere with the accuracy of the test.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. Jugaadin.com does not claim responsibility for this information.

Seema Jain

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