STRESS TESTING IS AN IMPORTANT DIAGNOSTIC TOOL IN DETECTING CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

Among many other causes of death, cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in developing countries including Pakistan. Management strategies for cardiovascular disease are constantly developing. These strategies are becoming more and more complicated so physicians should pay attention that they are using suitable diagnostic measures to optimize patient care for example, as progress in the development of effectual methods of myocardial revascularization leads to more minimally invasive and noninvasive procedures, there is a greater need to estimate the possibility of a patient having coronary artery disease by means of noninvasive cardiac testing. Stress testing is a time tested and noninvasive diagnostic technique which plays an important role in the investigation of coronary artery disease. The present piece of work reviews the use of stress testing in the assessment of patients with suspected ischemic heart disease, including the use of risk factor analysis to assess a patient’s candidature for noninvasive testing. The indispensable methodology of performing a stress test is reviewed.