Performing a stress echo can increase the safety of a surgical procedure if you have an existing heart condition.

If you are due to have surgery, we may recommend a stress echocardiogram to check your risk of complications. We can also see which arteries may need surgical intervention and which ones are less likely to.

We may recommend having a stress echo if you are experiencing concerning symptoms, such as symptoms of heart disease.

These include breathlessness, chest pain or pressure, feeling lightheaded or dizzy, rapid or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).

Athletes and people exposing themselves to extreme conditions may also consider having a stress echo. With a stress echo, we can check how their heart will respond to stress and whether they need to take precautions.

A stress echocardiogram is not suitable for everyone. We may not recommend having a stress echo if you have one of the following heart conditions: Aortic dissection, recent heart attack, constant chest pain, severe aortic stenosis, uncontrolled arrhythmia, and inflammation of the tissues in and around the heart including endocarditis, myocarditis, and pericarditis.

If you are unable to exercise, we may recommend a dobutamine stress echocardiogram. We explain what this is further down the page.

A stress echocardiogram takes around an hour. It involves taking an echocardiogram while your heart is at rest, then another after we expose it to stress. Two common echocardiogram stress tests are exercise and dobutamine.

Before each test, we connect you to an electrocardiograph to measure your heart rate throughout the stress test. We will also measure your breathing rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. You may need to replace your upper clothing with a gown so we can effectively track your heart’s activity.

At the start of each test, we’ll perform the resting echocardiogram. We’ll ask you to lie on your left side, but you may need to change positions during the test. We will likely darken the room to improve our ability to monitor each echocardiogram.

We will put a special gel on your chest to help the sound waves reach your heart from the transducer. A transducer is a small device, also known as an ultrasound wand, that releases sound waves. These sound waves allow us to collect images of the heart.

After the first echocardiogram, you’ll either need to exercise to increase your heart rate or we’ll use dobutamine. We’ll explain which method we recommend and why before you come for the stress test.

As we mentioned, a stress echocardiogram can cause concerning symptoms.

These include

• Weakness
• Abnormal heart rate (arrhythmia)
• Feeling sick
• Extreme tiredness/ fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Chest pain/ discomfort
• Severely high blood pressure

In rare cases, people experience a heart attack. Though, your risk of this will depend on your heart’s health and other factors. We will discuss this with you before the test.

After the test, we will need to look at our findings before reporting back to you. Normal results will indicate that your heart is working as we expect. For example, you exercised for as long as or longer than the average person your age and sex. Our cardiologist can explain each aspect of your results to you.

If you have abnormal results, your heart may not pump blood effectively. It could be due to a previous heart attack or suggest that you have coronary artery disease. We may recommend further tests, medication changes, or surgical intervention.

You will receive your results almost immediately on the day, and we can discuss what they mean for you.