abnormal ekg

[peanut176]

My husband went for a physical and had to have a ekg.  IT came back abnormal and they want him to have a stress test.  What are they look ing for.  His blood pressure is 178 over 80.

[kenkeith]

High blood pressure can be due to a vascular abnormality.  The 178 is the systole pressure when the heart is in the pumping phase, and the high number indicates the vessels may be occluded and possibly sclerotic (hardened).

A stress test will involve perfusion of a dye through the vessels looking for any occlusions, and there will be some visibilty to the general functioning of the heart when under stress (exercise) and then at rest.  It will  determine your husband's degree and tolerance for exertion (stress phase) as the stress level (usually a treadmil) is elevated until the target heart rate is obtained or there are issues monitored by test equipment or your husband can't continue due to fatigue and/'or shortness of breath, etc.  There will be a doctor present to supervise and overlook the procedure to avoid any medical problems arising from the test.