Conditions & Services / Stress Test

Stress testing is a diagnostic test that evaluates heart health during exertion. HeartPlace, with 30 locations throughout North Texas, can perform a stress test to assess heart health and diagnose heart disease. The practice also offers metabolic stress testing to evaluate heart and lung function for fitness. Find out more about stress tests at HeartPlace; call the office closest to you or book an appointment online today. 

What is a stress test?

A stress test is a cardiac test that measures how well your heart works when pumping hard. To perform a stress test, your provider attaches electrodes to your chest, arms, and shoulders to measure the electrical activity of your heart while you walk on a treadmill. 

Your provider adjusts the speed or incline of the treadmill, increasing your heart rate until you reach a target number or feel chest pain or shortness of breath. 

Who needs stress testing?

The cardiovascular disease specialists at HeartPlace determine if you need stress testing after a cardiology consult. 

You may need stress testing if you have chest pain during exercise (angina), shortness of breath, or heart palpitations, which may be signs you have an underlying heart problem or condition, such as:

• Coronary artery disease
• Arrhythmia
• Heart failure

The cardiovascular practice may also perform stress testing to evaluate the effectiveness of your cardiac treatment plan for your heart condition. 

Are there other types of stress testing?

There are many types of stress testing, but the exercise treadmill test (ETT) is the most common. Other types include:

Stress echocardiography

Stress echocardiography combines the elements of a stress test with an echocardiogram. During this test, your provider first performs an echocardiography to create moving images of your heart using ultrasound technology.

You then exercise to increase your heart rate, and you undergo a second echocardiography to evaluate the movement of blood through your heart during exertion. 

Pharmacological stress testing

For those unable to walk on a treadmill, the experts at HeartPlace perform pharmacological stress testing. During this test, your provider uses medication to make your heart pump harder and faster.

Nuclear stress testing

With nuclear stress testing, your provider captures images of your heart before and after exercise using a special camera and radioactive isotopes. 

What is metabolic stress testing?

Metabolic stress testing measures both your heart and lung function during exercise. HeartPlace performs metabolic stress testing to:

• Assess the health of your heart and lungs
• Measure heart function
• Find heart rhythm problems during exertion
• Help develop an effective exercise program

During metabolic stress testing, you wear electrodes on your chest and a mask covering your nose and mouth. The test measures cardiac electrical activity, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and rate of respiration.

To learn more about stress testing at HeartPlace, call the office most convenient to you or schedule an appointment online today.