SFVA Cardiac Stress Laboratory
We run a full-service Cardiac Stress Laboratory, in collaboration with Nuclear Medicine.
We perform both exercise treadmill tests and pharmacologic stress tests for diagnostic and prognostic indications in coronary artery disease. Many of these stress tests are performed in conjunction with radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging.
Once the consult and a recent ECG are entered in CPRS, the Cardiology fellow determines the appropriateness (ie exercise vs pharmacologic, with or without radionuclide imaging) and urgency of the stress test. All stress tests are performed by second-year Cardiology fellows or an experienced Cardiology NP and supervised and interpreted by an attending Cardiologist. The patient’s hemodynamic response to exercise or pharmacologic stress is monitored and reported. The finalized reports, including the interpretation of the ECG strips, are available the same day as the stress tests in CPRS. If there are accompanying myocardial perfusion imaging studies, these are interpreted and reported on the same day by a Nuclear Medicine specialist.