Spire Manchester Hospital offers a wide range of diagnostic tests including exercise echocardiograms. These tests can either be requested by your Consultant to aid with a diagnosis or your Doctor can refer you.
An exercise ECG is just like a normal electrocardiogram (ECG) test, except you will be asked to exercise on a treadmill or exercise bike. This helps to assess the blood supply to the muscle of the heart via the coronary arteries, or assesses the heart’s response to exercise.
What's involved in having an exercise ECG?
Electrodes will be placed on your wrists, ankles and chest. The electrodes are connected by wires to a machine recording all the electrical signals from your heart. You will then be required to walk on a treadmill or cycle on an excercise bike as the ECG machine records the changing activity of your heart.
An exercise ECG is a completely painless test. After the test, the electrodes are removed and your doctor will review the readings of the ECG machine which appear as a series of waves.