Exercise Stress Echocardiogram
Stress echocardiography combining exercise testing with heart ultrasound — assessing coronary artery disease and heart performance under exertion.
What is It?
An Exercise Stress Echocardiogram is a specialised cardiac test that combines heart ultrasound imaging (echocardiography) with controlled physical exercise on a treadmill. It allows your cardiologist to evaluate how well your heart functions both at rest and under physical stress.
At One Heart Centre, our cardiologists have expert training in performing and interpreting stress echocardiograms, providing a comprehensive assessment of heart performance and blood supply during exertion.
Why is It Performed?
At One Heart Centre, our cardiologists may recommend an Exercise Stress Echocardiogram to:
- Investigate chest pain or breathlessness during physical exertion
- Assess for coronary artery disease
- Evaluate exercise capacity and overall heart performance
- Assess known heart conditions under controlled physical stress
- Guide treatment decisions and safe exercise recommendations
- Monitor your response to cardiac treatment over time
This is a highly valuable test for identifying heart problems that may only become apparent during physical activity.
What Does the Test Involve?
First, a resting echocardiogram is performed while you lie comfortably on an examination bed. You will then walk on a treadmill following a carefully controlled exercise protocol, where the speed and incline increase gradually.
Your heart rhythm, blood pressure and symptoms are closely monitored throughout by experienced clinical staff at One Heart Centre. Immediately after you finish exercising, you will quickly return to the bed so that repeat ultrasound images of your heart can be captured while your heart rate is still elevated.
Total appointment time is usually around 30–45 minutes. You may feel short of breath or tired during the exercise component, which is entirely normal and expected. You can usually resume your normal activities shortly after the test.
What are the Benefits?
- Comprehensive assessment of how your heart performs under physical stress
- Effective detection of reduced blood flow to the heart muscle
- Helps diagnose coronary artery disease with high accuracy
- Provides both functional and structural heart information in a single test
- Guides safe exercise planning and personalised treatment strategies