A heart stress test's exercise part usually lasts 10-15 minutes, but the whole appointment, including prep and recovery, can take 30 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the test type (e.g., standard, echo, nuclear), with imaging tests taking longer, sometimes up to 3 hours in total.
Your heart will be stressed, either through exercise or through the use of medication. During the test you will be constantly monitored by a nurse practitioner or a physician. The actual stress portion of the test takes about 10 to 15 minutes, however the preparation takes longer (up to 30 minutes).
You can test your stress level in many ways. The most effective option is to consult a healthcare or mental health professional for a health screening and professional medical advice. In the meantime, quizzes like this one may give you a general idea of how stressed you might be.
A stress test is generally highly accurate for spotting blocked arteries. Adding imaging tests, like nuclear imaging or an echocardiogram, makes them more reliable. However, without these extra images, stress tests might miss smaller blockages or issues.
Oftentimes, the next step for people who fail a stress test, and who have risk factors for or symptoms of cardiovascular disease, is an imaging test called a coronary angiography. Your doctor may call it a cardiac catheterization, or “cath” for short.
A stress test usually involves walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike. A healthcare professional watches your heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing during the test. People who can't exercise may be given a medicine that affects the heart like exercise does.
“Long-term—or chronic—stress can cause higher levels of inflammation in the body that contribute to increases in plaque buildup in the arteries—and that can lead to such problems as coronary artery disease,” says Dr. Lampert. Coronary artery disease can lead to heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms, and heart failure.
Getting ready for your stress test
“When stress hormones are elevated, your blood pressure may rise and you may feel heart palpitations, a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, or even chest pain. In extreme cases, stress can also cause the heart to temporarily weaken, a condition called stress-induced cardiomyopathy.”
As a result, you might:
You may experience stress if you:
A blood test can evaluate stress-related biomarkers to assess your adrenal function and rule out the development of adrenal disorders.
Because you can have heart problems with normal blood pressure and pulse, it's important to know what other signs to look for. Symptoms like fatigue and jaw pain, which can be overlooked or mistaken for something else, can be warning signs of an underlying heart issue.
April is Stress Awareness Month: Understanding the Physical Signs of Stress
You may feel squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness or pain in the chest. It may feel like somebody is standing on your chest. The chest pain usually affects the middle or left side of the chest.
Sometimes referred to as hardened, blocked or clogged arteries, atherosclerosis can be a complex condition. But the good news is that atherosclerosis is highly treatable when diagnosed early. Atherosclerosis symptoms can begin as early as childhood and usually progress more rapidly between ages 40 and 50.