Cardiac Stress Test sa Dubai

A cardiac stress test, also known as a treadmill test or exercise ECG, is a cornerstone diagnostic tool in cardiology. It evaluates how your heart responds to physical exertion by monitoring your electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure, and heart rate while you walk on a treadmill. The test follows the Bruce Protocol, a standardized method that gradually increases the treadmill speed and incline every three minutes. This progressive challenge forces your heart to work harder, revealing blood flow problems that may be entirely invisible when you are at rest.

The primary purpose of a stress test is to detect coronary artery disease, a condition where plaque builds up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. When these arteries are significantly narrowed, the heart may not receive enough oxygen-rich blood during exercise, producing characteristic ECG changes, chest discomfort, or abnormal blood pressure responses. Stress testing is also valuable for evaluating exercise-induced arrhythmias, assessing functional capacity after a heart attack or cardiac surgery, and determining safe exercise levels for patients beginning a fitness program.