Stress testing can also be performed concurrently with the use of echocardiography. Patients are exercised on a treadmill or given a drug called dobutamine (which stimulates the heart to beat faster and stronger) until a peak heart rate is obtained. At peak exercise or peak infusion of dobutamine, the heart is imaged and the heart muscle response is evaluated. The resting pictures of the heart are then compared to the stress pictures to look for abnormalities in wall motion which may reflect blockage in a vessel of the heart.
