About Exercise Treadmill Testing
People with insufficient blood flow to the heart may have a normal electrocardiogram (EKG) at rest, but if we make the heart work harder with exercise, the EKG may change in ways that suggests blockages in the coronary arteries (coronary artery disease). Exercise can also test other cardiac issues, such as how much the heart rate goes up with stress, how the blood pressure responds to exercise, or whether abnormal heart rhythms develop when the heart is pushed to work harder. Sometimes, if the results are uncertain or borderline abnormal, we will perform a more sophisticated stress test that includes taking pictures of the heart, either stress echocardiography or nuclear stress testing.