A Stress Echocardiogram is a non-invasive test to detect ischaemic heart disease by comparing the ultrasound images of the heart at rest and after exertion on a treadmill.
By comparing your heart function before and after exercise using echocardiography, your cardiologist can determine whether enough blood is getting to your heart or if a narrowing is restricting this supply. The test involves has three steps.
- A transthoracic chocardiogram is performed to assess the resting structure and function of your heart.
- You will then be asked to perform exercise on a treadmill while being monitored.
- After the exercise treadmill is complete another echocardiogram is performed to assess your hearts pump function after stress.
Most stress echo tests take about 30 minutes.