Dobutamine Stress Echocardiogram
What is it?
A “stress echo” is a combination of an ultrasound and exercise test. It compares how your heart muscle is pumping before and after exercise.
In a Dobutamine Stress Echo, instead of walking on the treadmill, a medication is used to increase your heart rate. A technician will take ultrasound pictures of your heart. You will then be given an intravenous infusion of Dobutamine and the medication will be increased every 3 minutes and further pictures of the heart will be taken.
Preparation
You doctor may advise you to stop some of your cardiac medications for 48 hours prior to your test. If you are in doubt, please contact us.
You will need to fast from food and drink for 3 hours prior to the appointment time. Two piece clothing is to be worn as the technician will need to access the chest. You will need to arrive 10 minutes prior to the appointment time to allow for insertion of the intravenous line.
Results
Your referring doctor will obtain a copy of the test within 24-48 hours of the test.
If you are a patient undergoing this test and you have any further queries, please raise them with your cardiologist.
