A cardiac stress test is a non-invasive test that indirectly reflects arterial blood flow to the heart during physical exercise as compared to blood flow during rest. The test reflects the imbalance of blood flow to the heart’s left ventricular muscle (the part of the heart that performs the most amount of work pumping blood). Thus, the results may also be interpreted as a reflection of a person’s overall physical fitness. The patient walks on a treadmill while connected to an ecg machine usually with the standard 10 connections used to record a 12-lead ecg. The level of exercise is increased in 3-minute stages of progressively increased gradient (incline) and speed (mph, kmh). The patient’s symptoms and blood pressure in response are repeatedly checked.

A cardiac stress test is a non-invasive test that indirectly reflects arterial blood flow to the heart during physical exercise as compared to blood flow during rest. The test reflects the imbalance of blood flow to the heart’s left ventricular muscle (the part of the heart that performs the most amount of work pumping blood). Thus, the results may also be interpreted as a reflection of a person’s overall physical fitness. The patient walks on a treadmill while connected to an ecg machine usually with the standard 10 connections used to record a 12-lead ecg. The level of exercise is increased in 3-minute stages of progressively increased gradient (incline) and speed (mph, kmh). The patient’s symptoms and blood pressure in response are repeatedly checked.