Cardiovascular fitness refers to the body's ability to efficiently provide the muscles with oxygen and blood. Your cardiovascular system includes your heart and your blood vessels. Your heart is a muscle; however, unlike with skeletal muscles, you cannot make it stronger with strengthening exercises, such as weightlifting. You strengthen your heart by forcing it to beat faster during aerobic activities. According to Central DuPage Hospital, cardiovascular fitness assessments evaluate the heart's ability to function during prolonged or vigorous activity.
Stress Test
A stress test evaluates how exercise affects your cardiovascular system. The test monitors the function of your heart while you use a treadmill or an exercise bicycle. The test uses an electrocardiogram, or EKG, to measure your heart's electrical activity, which provides information about the amount of oxygen getting to your muscles, and a blood pressure cuff to monitor your blood pressure. Monitoring continues for about 10 to 15 minutes after exercising stops or until your heart rate normalizes. You might have a fitness test in response to medical concerns or to evaluate your fitness for participation in exercise or other vigorous activities.
Nuclear Stress Test
The nuclear stress test, also called a thallium stress test, is a two-part test to evaluate the flow of blood through your heart during periods of rest and activity. During the first part of the test, you perform increasing levels of exercise using a treadmill or stationary bicycle while attached to EKG and blood pressure machines for monitoring. For patients who cannot exercise, the medication dobutamine is given to increase the heart rate. During the second part of the test, your health care provider injects a radioactive substance, either thallium or sestamibi, into your veins and, as you lie on a table, uses a computer to take pictures of the substance as it travels through your heart muscle. You receive the nuclear stress test in a medical facility to evaluate or diagnose medical conditions.
Echocardiogram
The echocardiogram, which is performed in a medical facility, is a cardiovascular fitness test that uses sound waves to create an image of chamber and valve movement in the heart. Your health care professional moves an ultrasound transducer over the skin where your heart is located. The sound waves bounce off of your heart and produce the image, which is displayed on a monitor. An EKG is also performed during the echocardiogram.
Stress Echocardiogram
The stress or exercise echocardiogram begins with capturing images of your heart at rest, after which you exercise on a treadmill or stationary bicycle to reach a target heart rate or until the test is stopped due to pain or other reaction. After the exercise is completed, you return to the table where a second echocardiogram is performed. The echocardiogram evaluates heart health and determines how much exercise is safe for patients recovering from heart attacks or other conditions.
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