Cardiac Stress Test
A cardiac stress test is a clinical test that is done
to evaluate the flow of blood to the heart muscle (myocardium)
through arteries at time of physical exercise. It measures
the flow of blood to the myocardium during physical
workout in comparison to that during the hours of rest.
The test also evaluates the overall fitness and health
of the body and measures the amount of oxygen that is
supplied to the heart muscle during exercise.
Cardiac stress abnormalities indicate imbalance in the
flow of blood to the left ventricular muscle tissue.
The most important utility of the test is to detect
stress abnormalities. It is the left ventricle of the
heart that pumps the blood to different parts of the
body. Imbalances in the blood flow to the other chambers
of the heart are not detected by stress testing.
Cardiac stresses that are detected
by cardiac stress test
– |
High-grade stenoses that is the severe
narrowing of the larger coronary arteries |
– |
Advanced atherosclerosis that is arterial disease
or the hardening of the arteries |
– |
Angina that is an exercise-related chest pain |
– |
Vasodilation that is the relaxing or widening
of the ventricular arterioles |
Exercise Electrocardiogram
Exercise electrocardiogram is a sort of cardiac stress
test. This test detects the changes that take place
in the heart during exercise hours. You can undergo
the test while walking on a motor-driven treadmill or
pedaling a fixed bicycle. It also detects abnormalities
of the heart and symptoms of any cardiac complication.
Exercise electrocardiogram translates the electrical
activity of the heart during exercise hours into line
tracings on a piece of paper. The dips and spikes in
the tracings of the line are called waves. This cardiac
stress test is also done before or after an exercise.
Recovery after the test
Once the phase of exercise is over the patient, can
sit down or lie on bed. This is followed by blood pressure
and EKG checks that would take 5 to 10 minutes. After
which the electrodes are removed from the patient’s
chest and he can to return to his daily course of activities.
Purpose
Purposes of an exercise electrocardiogram are varied, like:
– |
It detects the factors responsible
for chest pain |
– |
It detects the types of some heart diseases |
– |
It evaluates the tolerance power of people who
have undergone a heart surgery or suffered a heart
attack. |
– |
It also detects fainting, dizziness, irregular
or rapid heartbeats during an activity or exercise. |
– |
It detects the symptoms in case an artery is blocked
after a medical treatment like coronary artery bypass
surgery or angioplasty. |
– |
It also evaluates the functioning of a medicine
or treatment for an irregular heartbeat or chest
pain. |
The Situations in which Exercise
Electrocardiogram May Prove Fatal
– |
Heart attack |
– |
Unstable angina that is severe chest pain |
– |
High blood pressure |
– |
Arrhythmias that is life-taking irregular heartbeats |
– |
Myocarditis that is an infection in the heart
muscle |
– |
Anemia that is reduced amount of hemoglobin in
the red blood corpuscles |
– |
Severe lung disease |
– |
A bulging and stretched portion in the large artery
wall (aortic aneurysm) or in any of the heart chambers
(ventricular aneurysm) |
| 