A stress echocardiogram is a specialized ultrasound of the heart that incorporates exercise in order to assess the function of the heart under stress. This procedure examines the structure and function of the heart both before and after exercise.
How to Prepare
Avoid any food or drink for two hours before having the test. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes for walking on a treadmill. A two-piece outfit and trainers would be ideal. Before your visit to our Vancouver Diagnostics Centre, your patient advisor will guide you and provide you with all the information you need to prepare for your Stress Echocardiogram.
What to Expect
Your skin is prepared for the electrodes by shaving, if needed, and wiping the area of skin with an alcohol swab. Electrodes are placed on the prepared areas and the leads from the ECG machine are attached. You be asked to lie on your left side so that your sonographer can take ultrasound images of your heart at rest. This will take approximately 20 minutes.
You will then be asked to stand on the treadmill to begin the exercise portion of the test your diagnostic technician will take your blood pressure. The test on the treadmill is set up in stages. The first stage is a slow walking pace with the following stages increasing in both speed and incline. The goal of the walking phase is to increase your heart rate to a certain level. Once you have reached either the target heart rate or your cardiologist feels you have done enough, you will be quickly taken from the treadmill and back onto the bed.
Your sonographer will take more ultrasound images of your heart while your heart rate is increased. This will take approximately 90 seconds. Your cardiologist will then be able to compare the images of your heart at rest with the images of your heart after exercise. The total length of the procedure is approximately 75 minutes.
One Comment
When is the earliest my son could get in for an Echocardiogram.
Do you get the results right away?