Stress test

Cardiac stress test

A cardiac stress test is a heart function test that monitors either the cardiac electrical activity or uses radionuclide imaging (scintigrapy) to monitor cardiac function or perfusion. Examples include exercise treadmill test, stress echocardiography, stress radionuclide imaging. The stress can be due to either exercise or pharmacologic stress. Pharmacologic stress can be either a vasodilator or a inotropic/chronotropic medication.

Radionuclide imaging

Radionuclide imaging includes radionuclide ventriculography (MUGA) and stress radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (rMPI). Perfusion imaging uses emission-computed tomography with either single-photon emission-computed tomography SPECT using either thallium or sestamibi isotopies or positron emission tomography (PET).