Stress Echocardiography

What is stress echocardiography?

Stress echocardiography, often called a stress echo for short, is a diagnostic test to check how your heart functions when it’s working hard. Many heart health and function problems are easiest to identify when your heart’s pumping as hard as it can.

Stress echos use sound waves (ultrasound) to create 3D images of your heart in motion. A stress echo is a non-invasive and painless test, but it does require physical exertion.

How does stress echocardiography work?

For a standard echocardiogram, your technician moves a hand-held transducer over your chest while you’re resting. A stress echo gathers moving images of your heart when you’re at maximum physical exertion.

You’ll have a resting echocardiogram before starting exercise. Then, you’ll exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike until you’re physically exhausted, which usually takes 7–12 minutes.

As you exercise, the medical team monitors your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and general physical state. When you’re at maximum exertion, you’ll immediately have another echocardiogram.

If you can’t exercise because of health risks or physical impairment, you can still have a stress test. In that case, you receive an injection that raises your heart rate, very much like what would happen when you’re exercising.

When would I need stress echocardiography?

The team will recommend a stress echo in several situations, including:

• During annual physical exams
• During routine primary and preventive care
• Diagnosing symptoms like chest pain or difficulties breathing
• Assessing your fitness level
• Checking the effectiveness of your heart medication

With this test, your specialists can recognize possible heart issues and existing problems so they can start treatment as soon as possible.