What Are The Types of Stress Tests?

This test is called a stress test because we look at how your heart is working when it’s under stress, such as when your heart is beating faster than normal.

When you come in for the test, there are two different ways that we can increase the stress on your heart. The first way is to have you walk on a treadmill until your heart rate reaches a certain number. The second way is to give you some medication that will raise your heart rate as if you were exercising.

When your provider scheduled your test, it’s possible that they scheduled you to have an exercise stress test with an echocardiogram or a nuclear stress test. A stress test with an echocardiogram follows the same process as an exercise stress test, except we look at your heart using an echocardiogram before and after you exercise.

A nuclear stress test also follows the same process as an exercise stress test, except we will also give you a small amount of radioactive material to let us see the blood flowing through your heart. This process is similar to an X-ray, and don’t worry, the radioactive material used is small enough where it won’t hurt you.