MP Heart Clinic

TMT

Treadmill Test (TMT) is also called as Cardiac Stress Test which is used in cardiology to test the ability of the heart to react to outside sources of stress in a controlled medical atmosphere. The reaction to stress is produced either by exercise or drug stimulation which compares the circulation of blood in the heart when the patient is either resting or he is under optimum physical pressure.

Is TMT procedure a substitute for ECG ?

For example in a case like Angina, if the patient is not having any pain in the chest, the angina symptoms would only come when they increase the heart rate, while doing some physical exertion like walking. This is a condition where we need a TMT test and ECG would not be successful as ECGs are taken at rest when the heart is beating at its lowest rate and patients with a 90% blocks can even have a normal ECG in such a condition.

How is TMT test done?

The TMT test generally takes up to 15 minutes from beginning to end. The major stress test is only of 10 minutes. The patient’s initial blood pressure is recorded at rest. Next, the electrodes are placed on the patient’s chest and are connected to the wires that are linked to the ECG machine.

There is a lead which is placed on different areas of the heart and around 12 lead ECG reports are recorded on the paper. There are three leads that are connected to the Treadmill monitor too.

Benefits of TMT or Stress test

Stress tests are quite safe and will help the doctor in diagnosing a heart problem and determine what and how much of activity is safe for a patient.