Exercise ECG for the diagnosis of a coronary heart disease | Exercise ECG

Exercise ECG for the diagnosis of a coronary heart disease

The suspicion of the presence of a so-called coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the main reasons for performing a stress ECG. This disease causes changes in the vessels that supply the heart with blood and thus oxygen. Deposits in the vessel walls constrict these extremely important vessels and can even occlude them – in this case, a heart attack occurs.

A non-invasive method of detecting a CHD is to perform a stress ECG. At rest, the vessels can often still supply the heart with sufficient oxygen. If there is physical exertion and thus an increased oxygen requirement of the heart muscle, the heart vessels constricted by the CHD are no longer able to supply the heart with sufficient oxygen. This lack of oxygen under stress can be seen in a change in electrical activity under stress in the ECG.