A stress test is a common test that doctors use to diagnose coronary artery disease. The test helps doctors see how the heart is working. A thallium stress test is a nuclear study in which a radioactive substance is injected into your bloodstream to show how blood flows through your arteries. Doctors can see if parts of the heart muscle are damaged or dead, or if there is a serious narrowing in an artery.

This means that your heart function is normal, even when you are pushed to peak exertion. But it does not mean that you have no coronary atherosclerosis. Your coronary arteries may not be clean, i.e. you may have plaque build up but it is not causing any obstruction to blood flow yet. There are patients who die suddenly of a heart attack despite having a negative stress test. This fact, first published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1989, seems paradoxical. See similar questions...

A stress test is the common term for an exercise ECG, in which disks are attached to the patient's arms and legs as well as to the chest. While connected to the ECG machine, the patient exercises on a treadmill machine or stationary bicycle. This test reveals if exercising causes (or worsens) the arrhythmia and if there is evidence of inadequate blood flow to the heart (a condition known as ischemia). See similar questions...

Patients must be fasting for three hours prior to the test. Patients must also be free of caffeine of any type for 24 hours prior to testing. This includes coffee, tea, chocolate, white chocolate, aspirin compounds that contain caffeine, decaffeinated coffee or tea and other sodas which contain caffeine. Patients who are taking medications for lung problems, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure and Persantine may need to alter their medications. See similar questions...

A stress test is usually performed on a treadmill, while the heart activity is being monitored. The main purpose of a stress test is to see if there is any evidence of blocked arteries. If there are blockages, and not enough blood gets through during exercise, changes occur in the EKG's being recorded. Sometimes, a nuclear scan is done as well, to gather additional information about the blood flow. See similar questions...

The first stage of a stress test is only 1.7 mph. If you're okay after 3 minutes at that speed then the speed increases. So just about anyone can take a stress test. See similar questions...

Even a stress test isn't 100% definitive. Certainly someone with a normal stress test is at lower risk than someone with an abnormal one. But plaque in an artery can sometimes go from an undetectable 20% blockage to a critical 99% blockage overnight, much like a volcano erupting. Unfortunately, this sort of situation is almost impossible to predict or prevent. Controlling blood pressure and cholesterol and taking aspirin can help, however. Yes and no. See similar questions...

A stress test may consist of exercise, usually on a treadmill, or a "drug simulated" stress, which uses drugs such as adenosine, dipyridamole or dobutamine. These tests are done to evaluate patients with documented or suspected heart disease. A stress test also helps in the detection of heart disease which may not be producing any symptoms. See similar questions...

Each test in cardiology serves a specific purpose. EBCT coronary artery scanning is the best available screening test for detecting early heart disease, and is usually performed before any of the other cardiac tests, including a stress test. The stress test still has a role to play, and it is useful to determine whether a patient has ischaemia due to severe obstructive coronary artery disease which requires urgent angioplasty or bypass surgery. See similar questions...

Exercise is very good for the heart, but it's not a guarantee that you won't develop a heart condition. In fact, because you're active, it's especially important to make sure that your heart can safely tolerate the activity. Many people with coronary problems never have chest pain. See similar questions...

Stress tests only show an abnormality if you have an artery that is at least 65-80% blocked. At that point, treatment may require surgery or angioplasty. And, 70% of heart attacks happen in arteries that are less than 50% blocked and a stress test would not have shown anything wrong. The coronary artery scan can detect developing blockages much earlier, often many years before anything is detectable on a stress test. See similar questions...

Eat a light meal 2 hours prior to the test. Then, do not eat, drink or smoke anything until after the test. Wear comfortable exercising shoes. Wear loose-fitting clothes so you can move freely. Ladies, please wear slacks and bra. Take all prescribed medications including inhalers, insulin (sugar pill) and blood pressure pills. See similar questions...

CMET complements many other tests for cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders limiting exercise. First, not all patients with myocardial ischemia have chest pain, and not all cardiologists actually do the echo immediately after the exercise test or during exercise. Under these conditions the myocardial oxygen supply oxygen requirements balance are not the same as it was during exercise at a level that the patient likes to function. Therefore, the readings could be spuriously normal. See similar questions...

No, this test has to be ordered by your physician. If you are concerned about heart disease or think you may have heart disease and want to have a nuclear test, you should discuss this with your doctor. He or she will order this test if he thinks this is an appropriate test for you. See similar questions...

The stress test report is sent to your doctor, who is the best person to explain to you the results of this test. See similar questions...

Like all EKG monitoring, electrodes and lead wires connect the patient to the monitoring equipment. A baseline EKG is taken, and then the patient is asked to walk on the treadmill until maximal exercise is attained or until the physician has enough information to end the test. The EKG is monitored throughout the stress test and compared to the resting or baseline EKG. See similar questions...

There is some risk of provoking abnormal rhythms, ischemia (restriction in blood supply) or other symptoms, but this is evaluated and closely monitored by the physician. See similar questions...