What is the purpose of an exercise test?
Exercise testing us used to:
- Confirm the diagnosis of coronary disease or angina
- Follow the progress of coronary disease
- Evaluate respiratory function
- Aid in the detection of exercise induces asthma as well as restrictive and obstructive lung disease
- Predict the risk of further heart problems
- Help evaluate response to treatment.
How accurate is the exercise test?
The exercise test is not a perfect test. Some people with disease
will have a normal test and some healthy people will have an abnormal
test.
The accuracy of a cardiac exercise test can be improved in two ways.
One way is by performing an echocardiogram at rest, before the exercise
test, and again immediately following the exercise test. If there is
coronary artery narrowing, the images just after exercise may show
abnormal heart function. A second method to improve the exercise test
is by injecting a small amount of a radioactive (nuclear) tracer into
a vein in your arm. The tracer can indicate areas of the heart that
do not receive adequate blood flow. Typically there are two injections,
one at rest and the other at the peak of exercise.
There are options for the exercise portion of the test as well. Most
of the time, your IHLA physician will like to have you walk on a
treadmill. For the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPX), the exercise
portion is typically performed on a bicycle ergometer. However, if
your are physically unable to use either of these pieces of equipment,
there are medications that we can use to simulate exercise. Your
physician will discuss these choices with you, prior to your test.
Illinois Heart & Lung Associates, S.C. can perform any of these
different exercise tests in our offices. Click on a specific type of
exercise test below to learn more details about the test and how to
prepare.
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPX)
Standard graded exercise test (GXT)
Stress Echocardiogram (including Dobutamine Stress Echo)
Nuclear Imaging (Cardiolite®/Myoview®) stress tests
