Particularly if you are having specific cardiac symptoms, such as chest pain and lightheadedness, your doctor may recommend that you undergo a treadmill test, which is also known as an exercise stress test. Your doctor will interpret and use the results of the test to make decisions regarding your continued course of care. Exercise stress testing provides valuable data about your cardiac health; however, there are contraindications for treadmill stress testing of which you should be aware.
The Treadmill Stress Test: What It Is
Exercise stress testing takes place on a treadmill located in a special controlled environment that allows a medical health professional to monitor you closely. Before the test begins, a technician will place monitoring equipment, such as electrodes and a blood pressure cuff, on your body. These devices will record your body's cardiac response to increased exertion during exercise. You will begin the test by walking slowly on the treadmill. During the course of the treadmill test, the technician will increase the speed and the incline of the treadmill. Upon completion of the test, you will have time to rest until your vital signs, like blood pressure and heart rate, return to normal.
Absolute Contraindications
Absolute contraindications are those that prohibit you from undergoing a treadmill stress test for any reason. They are grave in nature, and if any of them apply to you, undergoing an exercise stress test may actually put your life at risk. These absolute contraindications include the occurrence of an acute heart attack within the last 48 hours, as well as chest pain, which is also known as angina, that is either unstable or uncontrolled. If you have an uncontrolled arrhythmia, which is a condition in which your heart's rate and/or rhythm is abnormal and disrupted acutely enough to cause you symptoms, this is an absolute contraindication. Other conditions for which exercise stress testing is too dangerous include decompensated heart failure as well as cardiac infection.
Relative Contraindications
There are other contraindications for treadmill stress testing for which your doctor may conclude that the benefits of it outweigh the risks of the test. Some of these contraindications include physical or mental barriers of safe exercise that could also render test results unreliable, a heart rate that is either too slow or too fast and serum electrolyte abnormalities, such as salt and potassium levels in your blood that are outside the range of normal. Another relative contraindication is severe high blood pressure greater than 110 over 200 mm Hg. Disease of your heart valves is yet another relative contraindication to treadmill stress testing.
Alternatives
If you have any condition for which your doctor deems treadmill stress testing too risky, there is an alternative, known as a pharmacological stress test, that may be safer in your case. During this test, you will receive a medication that raises your heart rate or dilates your blood vessels to mimic the effects of exercise. A medical technician will monitor and record your heart's response to the medication during the entire test.
