What Is A Stress Test And Why They Are Used

The cardiac stress test is the most important tool cardiologists have at their disposal to diagnose any kind of heart disease. Doctors, looking to achieve the best results, must work with highly trained technicians while performing the stress test. There are different types of stress tests and each one has very specific requirements. Stress tests for cardiac disease have degrees of reliability that are influenced by testing and other conditions. One thing doctors want to discover is just how much stress the heart can take before it impacts the behavior or functioning of the heart. The most widely familiar to the general public is the exercise stress test but it has one application that it is primarily suited for.

Your heart must have the capability of performing if placed under excessive load. There are many reasons a doctor could order a stress test, but all of them are to ensure you have a normal, healthy heart. The non-nuclear stress test, namely the one involving exercise, is still used extensively in the medical field. The machine of choice can vary as it can be a treadmill or a stationary bike. When the test is performed, test leads are connected to the chest to watch the electrical activity of the heart. An electrocardiogram will help determine whether the heart is healthy and normal. The electrocardiogram will also reveal if there are problems with the heart.
The stress EKG is a very useful resource for doctors because it is a picture of how well the heart is able to pump blood. Also, the walls of the heart are exposed and the motion can provide more clues about abnormalities or issues with the heart. Just like other like tests, most doctors are drawn to how the heart responds while in a stressed position. The EKG is just a simple picture of the activity that is going on while the heart is under stress. The benefit of this test is that it can detect blood flow problems that are due to blockage that might not have otherwise been detected by other testing.

A nuclear stress test uses radioactive isotopes to produce an image of the functioning of the heart during a stressful situation. As you may know, a stressed heart is more apt to reveal an abnormal situation in the body that is related to the heart or cardiovascular system. Obtaining images of the heart at rest is also critical for the doctor. Therefore, these images are produced with the aid of isotopes injected into the blood stream. Every kind of cardiac stress test has its benefits and a possible purpose. They serve the purpose of helping doctors to get the right diagnosis. Consider the fact that there are optimum condition involving each that might change or effect the outcome of the diagnosis accuracy.