What is an exercise stress echocardiography?
• An exercise stress echocardiography is a test that shows the activity of the heart during exercise. It may also be called exercise echo or stress echo. This test shows how well your heart can handle stress. Exercise is a form of body stress. The longer you exercise, the harder your body needs to work. Your heart must work double time to pump more blood to supply the body with more oxygen. • An exercise stress echocardiography uses sound waves to make images of the heart before, during, and after the exercise. Images at rest are compared with those during and after exercise to know how the heart responds to exercise. There are times when arteries of the heart get blocked and its muscles get damaged. When this happens, the heart must work even harder to supply oxygen-rich blood to the body. The damage or blockage may be seen when an exercise echo is done. Heart wall movement and heart valves are also seen during this test. Having an exercise stress echocardiography may help find a hear
