Cardiac stressing agents

A cardiac stressing agent is used to stimulate the heart and increase workload.

They are used in a cardiac stress test which monitors the heart’s ability to cope with stress, starting from rest and then with an increasing workload. Once the cardiac stressing agent is administered the heart is monitored by echocardiogram or isotope imaging for any changes in blood flow through the heart muscle tissue or any structural differences.

This enables the diagnosis of coronary artery disease.