Sign In | Sign Up | Help | Invite    
Advanced Search Ask A Question Community Recent Changes
My:             Contributions   
Contributors
{for ul in pageInfo.page}
${ul.nickName}
{var al = toBreakWord(ul.adUrl,18)} {if ul.adSentence !=''}${ul.adSentence}
{/if} {if ul.adUrl !=''}${al}
{/if}
 
{/for}
Earn Free Advertising   +   Earn Money By Writing What You Know at WISTEME.COM
Question Discussion History

Edit
    Question ID:   4666         Current Version: 1
Question: What shall I expect for stress testing?
Category: Diseases & Conditions > Heart Disease
Keywords: expect, physical, heart, process, stress, test
Type: what
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 298    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:
Before Stress Testing

Standard stress testing can often be done in a doctor's office. But imaging stress testing is usually done at a hospital. Be sure to wear athletic or other shoes in which you can exercise comfortably. You may be asked to wear comfortable clothes in which you can easily exercise, or you may be given a gown to wear during the test.

Your doctor may ask you not to eat or drink anything but water for a short time before the test. If you're diabetic, ask your doctor whether you need to adjust your medicines on the day of your test.

For some stress tests, you can't drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks for a day before the test. Certain over-the-counter or prescribed medicines also may interfere with some stress tests. Ask your doctor whether you can take all your medicines as usual and whether you need to avoid certain drinks or foods.

If you use an inhaler for asthma or other breathing problems, bring it to the test and be sure to let the doctor know that you use it.

What To Expect During Stress Testing

During all types of stress testing, a technician will always be with you to closely monitor your health status.

Before you start the "stress" part of a stress test, a technician will put small sticky patches called electrodes on the skin of your chest, arms, and legs. To help an electrode stick to the skin, the technician may have to shave a patch of hair where the electrode will be attached.

The electrodes are connected to a machine that records the electrical activity of your heart. This recording, which is called an EKG (electrocardiogram), shows how fast your heart is beating and the heart's rhythm (steady or irregular). The machine also records the strength and timing of electrical signals as they pass through each part of your heart.

The technician will put a blood pressure cuff on your arm to monitor your blood pressure during the stress test. (The cuff will feel tight on your arm when it expands every few minutes.) In addition, you may be asked to breathe into a special tube so the gases you breathe out can be monitored.

After these preparations, you will exercise on a treadmill or stationary bicycle. If such exercise poses a problem for you, you may instead turn a crank with your arms. During the test, the exercise level will get harder. But you can stop whenever you feel the exercise is too much for you.

If you can't exercise, a technician will inject a medicine into a vein in your arm or hand. This medicine will increase the flow of blood through the coronary arteries and/or make your heart beat faster, as would exercise. This results in your heart working harder, so the stress test can be performed. The medicine may make you flushed and anxious, but the effects disappear as soon as the test is over. The medicine may also give you a headache.

While you're exercising or receiving medicine to make your heart work harder, the technician will ask you frequently how you're feeling. You should tell him or her if you feel chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizzy. The exercise or medicine infusion will continue until you reach a target heart rate, or until you:

  • Feel moderate to severe chest pain
  • Get too out of breath to continue
  • Develop abnormally high or low blood pressure or an arrhythmia (an abnormal heartbeat)
  • Become dizzy

The technician will continue to monitor your heart functions and blood pressure for a short time after you stop exercising or stop receiving the stress-creating medicine. The "stress" part of a stress test (when you're exercising or given a medicine that makes your heart work hard) usually lasts only about 15 minutes or less. But there is preparation time before the test and monitoring time afterward. Both extend the total test time to about an hour for a standard stress test, and up to 3 hours or more for some imaging stress tests.

Exercise Stress Echocardiogram Test

For an exercise stress echocardiogram test, the technician will take pictures of your heart using echocardiography before you exercise and after you finish. A sonographer (a person who specializes in using ultrasound techniques) will apply a gel to your chest and then will briefly put a wand-like device (called a transducer) against your chest and move it around. The transducer sends and receives high-pitched sounds that you usually can't hear. The echoes from the sound waves are converted into moving pictures of your heart on a screen.

You may be asked to lie on your side on an examining table for this test. Some stress echocardiogram tests also use a dye to improve imaging. This dye is injected into your bloodstream while the test occurs.

Sestamibi Stress Test or Other Imaging Stress Test Involving Radioactive Dye

For a sestamibi or other imaging stress test that uses a radioactive dye, the technician will inject a small amount of the dye (such as sestamibi) into your bloodstream via a needle placed in a vein of your arm or hand. You're usually given the dye about a half-hour before you start exercising or are given a medicine that makes your heart work hard. The amount of radiation in the dye is safe and not a danger to you or those around you. However, if you're pregnant, you shouldn't have this test because of risks it might pose to your unborn child.

Pictures will be taken of your heart at least two times-when it's at rest and when it's working its hardest. For such imaging, you will lie down on a table and a special camera or scanner that can see the dye in your bloodstream will take pictures of your heart. Some pictures may not be taken until you lie quietly for a few hours after exercising or receiving the stress-creating medicine. Some patients may even be asked to return in a day or so for more pictures to be taken. 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Stress Test

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) stress test may use a medicine rather than exercise to get your heart to work harder. But some facilities have you exercise on a specially made bicycle or treadmill that allows you to exercise while lying on your back. For this test, you will be put inside a tunnel-like MRI machine that takes pictures of your heart when it's working hard and when your body is at rest.

What To Expect After Stress Testing

After stress testing, you're able to return to normal activities. If you had a test that involved radioactive dye, your doctor may ask you to drink plenty of fluids to flush it out of your body. You also shouldn't have certain other imaging tests until the dye is no longer in your body. Your doctor can advise you about this.

Read more questions from WISTEME through
     Add to MSN Add to My AOL
 Rate this Question
   Add to Groups   Add to Watch Lists   Share Question
                          
 
    More Readings :
[QID:4665]    What is stress testing?  
[QID:4664]    What do I need to know about chest x-ray?  
[QID:4601]    What are blood tests?  
[QID:4630]    What do I need to know about bone marrow tests?  
[QID:4704]    What will you expect for a heart transplant?  
[QID:4703]    How do you tell the difference between a female prawn and male prawn?  
[QID:453]    What impacts do physical activity and healthy eating habits have on one's stress level?  
[QID:809]    How much do you know about physical activity and heart disease?  
[QID:4555]    What do you expect before, during, and after a blood transfusion?  
[QID:4799]    What would you expect for cardiac computed tomography (cardiac CT) scan?  
     Question ID:  ${question.id}         Current Version:  ${question.version}

{for qh in questionHistory} {if qh.status == 'r'} {else} {/if} {/for}
Version Contributor Date (ET) Voting
${qh.version} ${qh.nickName} ${qh.date} Rejected
${qh.version} ${qh.nickName} ${qh.date} {if qh.status != 'c'} {if qh.status == 'a'} Approved {else} {if qh.rstatus == 'c'} On-going {else} Pending {/if} {/if} {else}   {/if}
Start a New Topic
ID Topics Replies Latest Post (ET)
{if dlist!=null} {for d in dlist} {/for}
${parseInt(d_index)+1} ${d.sentence} ${d.replyNum} ${d.lastestDate}
{else}
No discussion topic.
{/if}
Label Name:
 
Group Name:
 
 
{else}
     You have no group.
{/if}
Advertisements
{if advertisements.length > 0} {else} {/if}
{for ad in advertisements}
${ad.adTitle}
${ad.adSentence}
${ad.adUrl}
{/for}

Home | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Browse Questions | RSS Feed

Copyright ©2010 WISTEME LLC. All Rights Reserved.