When your doctor orders a stress test, he wishes to see how well your heart is working. The goal of the test is to put your heart under physical stress and study the physiological responses. Depending on the results of the stress test, your doctor may decide to order additional tests.
Benefits
The stress test is useful at diagnosing coronary heart disease as well as predicting your risk for heart attack. Typically, a stress test will be ordered if the patient is experiencing cardiac-related symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain and dizziness. If you have undergone a procedure to treat coronary heart disease, a stress test may be ordered to test cardiac function after surgery.
Features
Before you run on a treadmill or cycle on an exercise bike, you'll be hooked up to an electrocardiogram, or EKG, machine to measure the electrical activity of your heart. While exercising at different intensity levels, your doctor will take blood pressure and heart rate readings. You'll also need to blow into a tube to measure gas levels in your breath.
Indicators
During the monitoring process, your doctor will look for certain indicators that your heart is not working properly. If your heart rate or blood pressure readings are abnormal, it could be indicative of a cardiac disorder. Other signs that your doctor will look for during the test are any symptoms of chest pain or shortness of breath that occur while exercising. The EKG readings taken will let the doctor know if there are any abnormal changes in your heart's rhythm or electrical currents.
Considerations
If you are unable to exercise due to a medical condition, your doctor may administer a medication to make your heart work harder as a substitute for exercise, according to MayoClinic.com. Another test referred to as a nuclear stress test is similar to a routine exercise stress test, but it provides images in addition to an electrocardiogram. After the results of the stress test, your doctor may decide to do a nuclear stress test to help measure blood flow to and from the heart. Radioactive material is administered into your body at trace levels. After exercise, a gamma ray camera will look at the heart to see if it is pumping blood normally.
