Stress Test

A cardiac stress test reveals how well your heart functions when forced to work harder than usual. Board-certified physicians Elvira Neculiseanu, MD, and Aleksandre Toreli, MD, at South Brooklyn Care, have extensive experience diagnosing heart conditions using many procedures, including cardiac stress testing. Call the South Brooklyn Care office in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, today. You can also book an appointment online if you have questions about testing or need to schedule a visit.

What is a cardiac stress test?

A cardiac stress test shows how well your heart works when forced to beat faster and pump more blood than usual. The South Brooklyn Care physicians use a stress test to diagnose heart conditions, including:

• Coronary artery disease
• Heart arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats)
• Congestive heart failure
• Heart valve disease
• Cardiomyopathy (heart muscle problems)

You might also need a cardiac stress test to determine if you can start exercising after a heart attack or to evaluate improvement from your heart treatment.

What happens during an exercise cardiac stress test?

Exercise stress tests evaluate your heart as you exercise, usually walking on a treadmill. Your provider takes a continuous electrocardiogram (EKG) during your test to monitor your heart activity. They also regularly evaluate your blood pressure.

Your test begins with you walking slowly. Your provider gradually increases the treadmill’s speed at certain intervals, pushing your heart to work harder. You keep exercising until your heart reaches a target rate, irregularities in your EKG or blood pressure show up, or you develop symptoms like chest pain and severe shortness of breath.

Are there other types of cardiac stress tests?

Your South Brooklyn Care provider could recommend other stress tests, including:

Stress echocardiogram

This exercise stress test includes having an echocardiogram before and after exercise. Echocardiograms use ultrasound to create images of your heart, revealing its structure, blood flow, valve movement, and muscle contractions.

Pharmacological stress test

If you can’t tolerate exercise, your provider can still run a cardiac stress test using medication to boost your heart rate. They deliver the drug to speed up your heartbeat through an intravenous (IV) line, taking echocardiogram images before and after your heart rate changes.

Your provider can combine pharmacological stress testing with a nuclear test. After your heart rate increases, they send a small amount of radioactive material called a radiotracer through the IV and use a specialized gamma camera to take images of your heart.

The radiotracers attach to blood cells, and the camera picks up the radiotracers. Your provider gets images of how well blood flows through your heart.

Call South Brooklyn Care today or request an appointment online to learn more about a cardiac stress test.