It can also be used to look for blood clots or tumors in the heart or fluid collections in the sac surrounding the heart. On very rare occasions when the images obtained are not clear enough with the technique described above, an intravenous injection may be given to enhance pictures. Alternatively, a transesophageal echocardiogram may be recommended. This study requires the patient to be sedated. Because the esophagus is right next to the heart, pictures are very clear.
Stress testing is a type of test in which the function of the heart is monitored during exercise.
Most often this test is performed to look for evidence of coronary artery disease or blockages in the arteries of the heart. We use a treadmill to exercise the patient. In this case, the patient simply lies down while the medication is given and EKG's and usually echocardiograms are recorded periodically. Holter monitoring is performed to look at the heart's rhythm over a 24-hour period. It is performed by placing EKG leads on the skin and recording the EKG on a device, similar to a small tape recorder, which is carried for the day.