General information, not an individual diagnosis. Ask a healthcare professional if you are unsure about your situation.
An exercise electrocardiogram, or exercise ECG, records the heart’s electrical activity during physical exercise. It assesses how the heart responds to exertion. When investigating persistent breathlessness, the doctor may select it according to the clinical assessment and initial results. This article concerns that prescribed, supervised examination.
An exercise ECG is conducted by a cardiologist in a hospital or clinic. Before starting, the cardiologist asks questions, examines you and checks for any contraindication. They explain the stages and obtain your consent. Describe your current symptoms and ask what question the examination is intended to answer in your assessment.
During supervised exertion, the team records the heart’s electrical activity, heart rate and blood pressure. Report unusual discomfort, pain, breathing difficulty, marked fatigue or abnormal heartbeats using the agreed communication method. The examination may be stopped if the exercise is poorly tolerated or if you do not wish to continue.
Breathing measurements can sometimes be added with your consent: measuring gases breathed out through a mask or mouthpiece, or taking blood samples to measure blood gases. These then complement the exercise ECG. They are not described as routine for every examination; ask the team which measurements are planned for you.
Before the appointment, confirm the instructions about meals and your treatments with the team. Assurance Maladie advises taking usual medicines unless the doctor gives different instructions. Plan to wear comfortable clothing and shoes. The team’s instructions organise the examination; they are not an exercise programme to repeat at home.
Recovery remains monitored, and the results are sent to the prescribing doctor. Ask how they will be explained and used in your follow-up. Before the planned date, recent breathlessness without respiratory distress needs a consultation the same day. If it prevents someone from finishing sentences or occurs with blue lips or confusion, call 15 or 112 immediately.
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