Echocardiogram Stress Test

In a stress test, you walk on a treadmill that makes your heart work harder. The treadmill progressively increases in speed and in the incline as per a pre-specified protocol. Your heart rate, blood pressure and EKG are monitored throughout the test. If you are not able to exercise, there are drugs to make your heart respond as if you are exercising.

This stress test is similar to the exercise stress test, however images of the heart are obtained using ultrasound (echocardiogram, ECHO) before and after exercise. A stress ECHO can accurately visualize the motion of the heart’s walls and pumping function when the heart is stressed. This may reveal a lack of blood flow that is not always apparent on other heart tests.