Heart Stress Test

What is Stress test for the heart?

The Heart stress test is done for the patients who have normal ECG or EKG at rest.

Patients even with severe clogged arteries may show normal Electrocardiogram. These people are advised to take this test.

This test is also called as Tread Mill Test.

How to take a Heart Stress Test ?

Usually electrocardiogram is taken at rest.

The patients with no chest pain and other heart attack symptoms at rest may have chest pain or angina during mild exercise like walking and running.

These kind of patients are undergoing some exercises like walking on Tread Mill.

The patient is fixed with electrodes on both chest, hands and legs.

During the exercise up to the patients tolerance the Ecg is taken.

The exercise level is gradually increased.

The records are monitored using computerized ECG.

Hence the heart rate increases during exertion the requirement of blood supply to the heart increases resulting in chest pain or angina.

As soon as the patient is having heart attack symptoms or changes of ECG recording advised to stop the exercise.

This test is also done in the patients who are already had heart attack and under medication. In these people this test shows the improvement or deterioration of treatment.

Interpretation of a Heart Stress Test

Negative test

The patients can reach to a particular level of heart rate without any significant ECG changes

This level of heart rate is called as Target Heart Rate

The formula for target heart rate is

Target Heart Rate=220-age of the patient.

Even though the test is negative it does not mean the clogging of arteries is zero.

The patients with negative test may have less than 70% of blockage of coronary vessels.

Positive Test

• When the patient is having angina or other heart attack symptoms at the level of target heart rate is considered as positive test.

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