What is a Stress Test?

A stress test is a type of test (or series of tests) performed by your doctor to obtain information about how your heart works during physical stress. Many heart problems are more easily diagnosed when your heart is "stressed" or working hard and beating fast. A stress test is performed while you exercise or stimulate your heart.  Often, you take a stress test while you walk or run on a treadmill or pedal an excercise bicycle.  In some situations, your doctor may stimulate heart activity by giving you a medicine to make your heart work harder while heart tests are performed.

During a stress test, your heart is monitored using images or through small electrodes attached to your chest, arms, or legs. You may be asked to breathe into a special tube during the test. This will allow your doctor to see how well you’re breathing during the stress test.

You may have arthritis or another medical problem that prevents you from exercising during a stress test. If so, your doctor can give you a medicine that makes your heart work harder, as it would if you were exercising. This is called a pharmacological stress test.