Stress test

In medicine, an exercise test, also called stress test, is "controlled physical activity, more strenuous than at rest, which is performed in order to allow assessment of physiological functions, particularly cardiovascular and pulmonary, but also aerobic capacity. Maximal (most intense) exercise is usually required but submaximal exercise is also used. The intensity of exercise is often graded, using criteria such as rate of work done, oxygen consumption, and heart rate."

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, and 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).