cardiac stress test
Sign in to saveAlso known as cardiac stress test.
cardiological test that measures a heart's ability to respond to external stress in a controlled clinical environment. The stress response is induced by exercise or by drug stimulation
Key facts
- Other names
- Cardiopulmonary exercise test
- Mesh
- D025401
- Medlineplus
- 003878
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Stress test.jpg
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- Commons category
- Ergometry
- described by source
- Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A cardiac stress test is a cardiological examination that evaluates the cardiovascular system's response to external stress within a controlled clinical setting. This stress response can be induced through physical exercise (usually a treadmill) or intravenous pharmacological stimulation of heart rate.
As the heart works progressively harder (stressed) it is monitored using an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor. This measures the heart's electrical rhythms and broader electrophysiology. Pulse rate, blood pressure and symptoms such as chest discomfort or fatigue are simultaneously monitored by attending clinical staff. Clinical staff will question the patient throughout the procedure asking questions that relate to pain and perceived discomfort. Abnormalities in blood pressure, heart rate, ECG or worsening physical symptoms could be indicative of coronary artery disease.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cardiac stress test” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.