stress test

medicine

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July 20, 2026

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A stress test in medicine is a diagnostic procedure used to evaluate the heart's function. It typically involves an electrocardiogram taken before, during, and after a period of increasingly strenuous exercise, such as walking on a treadmill. This process helps doctors assess how well the coronary arteries deliver oxygen to the heart muscle when it's under strain.12

Myocardial perfusion imaging is a related procedure that uses radioactive tracers to detect abnormalities in blood flow to the heart muscle. It can diagnose conditions like myocardial ischemia (reduced blood supply) and myocardial infarction (heart attack). A "thallium stress test" is a type of stress test where the tracer is injected during exercise to identify temporary reductions in blood flow.3

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cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
…MRI is sometimes employed for stress testing, in which heart rate or blood flow to the heart is increased artificially through drug administration in order to detect obstructions in the coronary arteries or other heart vessels. In persons with coronary heart disease, cardiac MRI may be used to predict heart…
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…MRI is sometimes employed for stress testing, in which heart rate or blood flow to the heart is increased artificially through drug administration in order to detect obstructions in the coronary arteries or other heart vessels. In persons with coronary heart disease, cardiac MRI may be used to predict heart…
Read More