Person having a stress test

This drawing shows a person having a stress test. During a stress test, you either exercise (such as on a treadmill, shown here) or take medicine to make your heart pump faster. A test called an ECG (also called an electrocardiogram or EKG) is done during the stress test. For an ECG, patches (called "electrodes") are stuck to your chest. Wires run from the patches to the ECG machine to measure the electrical activity in your heart. Your blood pressure is also checked during a stress test.