WHAT IS A STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAPH?
A stress echocardiograph may be requested by your doctor in certain circumstances, for instance when it is not possible to interpret the electrocardiogram during a normal stress test. In this case an echocardiograph will be performed before exercising on a treadmill and a repeat echocardiograph will be performed several minutes after completing exercise looking for abnormalities of contraction of the heart which might indicate myocardial ischaemia (impaired oxygen supply to the heart muscle). It is not possible to obtain satisfactory images of the heart during exercise because of increased respiratory motion.
A stress echocardiograph may be requested by your doctor in certain circumstances, for instance when it is not possible to interpret the electrocardiogram during a normal stress test. In this case an echocardiograph will be performed before exercising on a treadmill and a repeat echocardiograph will be performed several minutes after completing exercise looking for abnormalities of contraction of the heart which might indicate myocardial ischaemia (impaired oxygen supply to the heart muscle). It is not possible to obtain satisfactory images of the heart during exercise because of increased respiratory motion.