Cardiac exercise laboratory
An exercise stress test is performed to assess the heart's response to stress or exercise. The ECG is monitored while your child is exercising on a treadmill or stationary bike. While this procedure is seldom used for children under the age of six, it may very useful in evaluating adolescents and young adults.
An ECG tracing will be monitored throughout the test in order to compare the effects of increasing stress on the heart. On a treadmill, the incline and speed will be increased periodically to make your child exercise harder. If your child is riding a bicycle, he will pedal at a steady rate while the resistance is periodically increased. Your child will exercise until reaching a target heart rate which is determined by the physician based upon your child's age and physical status, or until your child is unable to continue due to fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, irregular heart rhythms, or other symptoms.
In addition to the treadmill or stationary bike, the equipment used includes an ECG machine, a pulse oximeter, (to measure oxygen in the blood), electrodes, (small, plastic patches that stick to the skin), lead wires which attach to the skin electrodes, and a blood pressure monitor. Your child may be asked to wear a head piece, mouth piece and nose clips to measure respirations during exercise.
Your child will have an initial or "baseline" ECG and blood pressure readings done prior to exercising. The child will walk on the treadmill or pedal the bicycle during the exercise portion of the procedure. ECG, blood pressure, and breathing will be monitored during exercise. Your child will then sit for about 15 minutes after exercising while ECG and blood pressure are monitored.
A hospital stay is not necessary after the procedure unless your child's physician determines that your child's condition requires further observation or hospital admission. Your child may feel a little tired or sore for a few hours after the procedure, particularly if he/she is not used to exercising. Otherwise your child should feel normal within a few hours after the procedure, if not sooner.
Depending on the results of the exercise ECG, additional tests or procedures may be scheduled to gather further diagnostic information.