Specialist Medicine Toowoomba
Exercise ECG
Exercise stress test (ECG) is performed to assess the effects of exercise on the heart.
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ECG leads are connected to your chest and abdomen with stickers. A blood pressure cuff is attached to your arm. Continuous cardiac (ECG) and blood pressure is monitored while you walk on a treadmill. Exercise stress level is increased in small steps by changing the slope and the speed of the treadmill. Exercise is stopped when you alert the operator that you need to stop.
The more exercise you do, the more accurate the result is.
To undergo this test, you need to be able to walk at a reasonably fast pace, safely, without using a walking aid. Your ECG at rest should not have some changes that preclude diagnosis.
INDICATIONS
Symptoms suggesting myocardial ischemia (lack of blood flow to the heart muscle) Acute chest pain in whom acute coronary syndrome (ACS-heart attack or unstable angina) have been excluded Recent heart attack treated without coronary angiography Known coronary heart disease (CHD) and change in clinical status (new chest pain, breathlessness) Prior coronary revascularization (stent placement or bypass surgery) follow up Abnormal or equivocal findings on coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography Valvular heart disease Certain cardiac arrhythmias when they are suspected to be caused by exercise Cardiac assessment prior to non-cardiac surgery Assessment chronotropic incompetence i.e. inability to increase heart rate to adapt to exercise
PREPARATION FOR THE TEST
You may need to withhold some medication in order to allow the heart rate to the required level. Please discuss this with the referring doctor. Avoid eating for 3 hours before the test. Drink water until 30 minutes before the test and keep yourself hydrated. Avoid caffeine for 24 hours leading to the test. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and walking/jogging shoes. It may be necessary to change to a hospital gown to allow attachment of ECG leads to the chest.
DURING THE TEST
If you have chest pain, dizziness, or other symptoms before the test, report to the Nurse. When you are on the treadmill, hold on to the front or side-bars for safety Stand close to the front of the treadmill to avoid leaning. Use of arm and chest muscles may create electrical interference with ECG Take long strides rather than short, quick steps As the blood pressure cuff inflates, try to keep the arm still and if possible, straight Report any chest pain or dizziness during the test immediately If you cannot continue safely, alert the operator promptly to stop.
THE TEST MAY NOT PROCEED IF
You have difficulty walking on the treadmill safely You are unable to understand instructions for the procedure You have a heart rate that is too high or too low You have a blood pressure that is too high or too low Baseline ECG make is difficult or impossible to interpret the result You have resting chest pain