What makes the exercise test abnormal?
An exercise test may suggest that you have coronary artery disease if the ECG changes, if you get pain of a certain kind or get out of breath, or if your blood pressure falls. As a rule, the longer you can keep going, the better: 9 minutes is average and 12 minutes or more is good. The doctor will tell you the result of the test in the clinic and may make recommendations for treatment or further tests. If you get pain or your ECG shows changes in less than 6 minutes, then this is a strong sign that you have narrowed arteries and need specialised treatment. My doctor says the exercise test is equivocal, so he can’t be sure if there is or isn’t a problem, and is sending me for a nuclear scan. Will I be radioactive? No, but I understand your concern. A ‘nuclear’or perfusion scan is an outpatient test which looks at blood flow to the heart. If there is an area of the heart muscle that does not show up on the scan, it could be a permanent scar such as occurs after a heart attack. If an area
