Stress Testing

A Stress or Treadmill test is a procedure to show what happens to your heart during exercise. It can be used to diagnose chest pain, evaluate the health of your arteries and heart, determine your response to medications or fitness for an exercise program, or the advisability or success of bypass surgery.

The Procedure

Ten galled adhesive pads will be placed on your chest which will be connected by wires to a computer. This allows us to watch your heart beating on a screen while you are walking. Your blood pressure will be checked before you begin, and the cuff will be left on your arm to allow us to check your blood pressure during your walk....Before beginning the test, you will be shown how to walk on the tread mill, which looks like a large conveyor belt. You begin by walking slowly. Then every three minutes the treadmill speeds up and the slope is increased until you are walking rapidly uphill. The goal is to continue walking until you reach your target heart rate. This is the maximum healthy heart rate for a person your age.

How long you walk depends on the time it takes to reach your target heart rate. if you exercise regularly, you will be able to walk on it longer. The average time spent on the treadmill is 5 to 10 minutes. The length of time you walk does not indicate whether you pass or fail the test.

A Thallium Stress Test

Your doctor may order your stress test with thallium which is a substance containing a small amount of radioactivity. It is not a dye and there are no side effects. Before the test is begun, a small needle is placed in a vein in your hand to inject the thallium during the last stage of your test. It is important that you walk for one minute after the injection to help circulate the thallium and give a good picture of your heart. You will then be placed under a large camera for about 20 minutes. The camera will be close to your chest but it won't touch you. It will rotate to take different views. You will need to return about two hours later for follow-up films. when you return, you will lie under the same camera for another 20 minutes. You may have a light meal and go wherever you like until you return, but you should not take a shower. This could adversely affect the results of your follow-up images. The entire stress test takes about one hour. A thallium stress test takes about 1 1/2 hours. Your doctor will have the final results in a day or two.

Preparation

On the day of your test, you should not have a heavy meal, drink coffee or smoke for at least two hours prior. Wear comfortable clothing. You may bring Jogging pants or shorts, or if you are a patient, you may wear pajamas. Wear comfortable walking or tennis shoes. Women should wear a bra (but not with an underwire) and will be provided with a gown.

Scheduling

Report to the Outpatient Registration Area 40 minutes prior to your appointment. if you are an inpatient, you will be transported to the Radiology Department.