How Long Will You Be on a Treadmill for a Stress Test?

The treadmill stress test is one of the most common ways in which the physician figures out if you have a heart disease and if the blood flow to your heart is regular or is there any obstruction. With the help of the treadmill stress test, the doctor sees how well your heart can perform when under pressure. The stress test is stopped if any kind of abnormal beating of the heart is noticed. The stress test also helps to find out when the heart starts to beat abnormally while going through the pressure due to the exercise.

How Long Will You Be on a Treadmill for a Stress Test?

How Long Will You Be on a Treadmill for a Stress Test?

It is important to know about your medical history before the physician performs the treadmill stress test. The doctor would also ask about how often do you exercise and how long do you exercise usually. Accordingly the amount of exercise that you have to do during the treadmill stress test will be determined. The stress test usually takes about 40 minutes. The whole procedure of treadmill stress test including the preparation part and noting of the readings may also extend up to one hour depending on the readings and your heart’s performance. The actual part where you have to exercise, walk or run on a treadmill for stress test is just for 7 minutes to 9 minutes. If you are a person who usually exercises then the actual exercise part may continue up to 15 minutes. As soon as you reach the treadmill stress test area on the day of the test, the equipment will be attached to your chest and the treadmill stress test will begin as soon as possible.

How is a Treadmill Stress Test Performed?

The sticky patches or the electrodes are placed on at least 20 different clear spaces of your chest. These patches are connected to an electrocardiogram which is commonly known as the ECG or the EKG machine. The patches are not only places on your chest but also on your arms and legs and connected to the ECG machine through wires. The heart’s electrical signals are recorded with this set-up. Also a cut-off is made on your arm to check your blood pressure during the time you exercise on the treadmill. Also you might have to breathe into a tube during the exercise which will determine your breathing rate during the exercise on treadmill stress test. All the above arrangements are done by a technical professional under the supervision of a physician.

How Does the Treadmill Stress Test Function?

The readings of your heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing rate is noted when you are at rest. Then you begin your exercise slowly. After some time the exercise becomes more difficult and the level of difficulty increases. Through this your heart is pushed and the pressure increases. The technician constantly monitors the readings on the EKG machine while you are on treadmill stress test. Your heartbeat increases, you breathe heavily and you start to perspire.

There can be some reading noticed which reveals that there is some kind of irregular heartbeat or enough blood in not being pumped by the heart then the treadmill stress test is stopped immediately. The other symptoms which may call for stopping the treadmill stress test are:

Unless some of the above mentioned symptoms are noticed, the treadmill stress test goes on until your legs get tired. The readings are taken until your heart goes back to the resting speed. During the exercise you can balance by holding the railings of the treadmill but it is advisable to not apply too much pressure on it since it may jeopardise the actual result. You may also ask them to stop the treadmill stress test if you are feeling too much uncomfortable at any time.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:January 20, 2018

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