You doctor may have ordered a treadmill stress test to check your heart under exercise conditions. In a cardiac stress lab you will use a treadmill which is integrated with a diagnostic and control computer that interacts between you, your doctor and the treadmill. Any devices that facilitates the test or interconnects with you and the system are part of the cardiac treadmill stress test equipment.
Computerized Electrocardiography
The heart of the test is the electrical information your heart sends to the diagnostic computer connected to the treadmill. Your electrocardiogram is a beat-by-beat record of the power, speed, rhythm and direction of the electrical impulses that make your heart muscle pump in response to your body's exercise demands. The complex, constantly changing ECG undergoes real-time analysis in the computer to alert your doctor to changes, sometimes faster and in more detail than the doctor can see, for instance as demonstrated in YouTube videos. After the test the treadmill computer compiles the changes, results and analyses, possibly saving hours of manual analysis.
Wireless Telemetry
One of the best pieces of stress test equipment for a treadmill could be called "what's not there." The ECG leads -- usually at least 11 of them -- used to monitor your heart during a test can easily tangle around your feet. This is a common stress test hazard. The equipment to prevent this is a set of wireless ECG leads. The ECG patches on your skin connect with short wires to a belt-mounted telemetry box, which communicates by radio to the treadmill computer. Quinton, manufacturer of one of many popular stress test treadmill-computer systems, offers this as part of the standard equipment package.
Fall Protection
If you take a treadmill stress test while you are weakened or poorly coordinated, for instance due to the condition you are being tested for, a stumble or a fall may happen, even with the best of care and even if you are a healthy athlete. The simplest protective stress test treadmill equipment is good padding on the hand-hold of the treadmill, a mat on the floor behind it, and all backed up by a strong and attentive spotter standing close by and ready to catch you or to ease your fall.
Dead Man's Switch
Even with reasonable safety precautions, including a brief walk on the treadmill before the test to acclimate you to the system, falls can still occur. If the treadmill belt continues to roll after you fall it may cause abrasions or grab your hair or fingers between the belt and its rollers. A dead man's switch connects you to the treadmill's on-off control. If you fall, it switches the treadmill off instantly. Find Target describes many varieties of dead man's switch, all of which can be connected to any treadmill, even if yours is a model that do not come with one.
