Medical indications for an exercise ECG
- Chest pain on physical exertion
- High blood pressure
- Heart rhythm disorders
- Too much cholesterol, homocysteine, blood sugar
- Smoking, stress, lack of exercise
- Assessing the severity of a narrowing of the coronary arteries
- Before surgery
- Certain occupations and groups (e.g. pilots, bus drivers, older athletes, professional athletes)
Procedure: depending on your fitness, the whole test takes about 15–30 minutes. Please make sure the bicycle seat is at a comfortable height, i.e. your legs should be almost straight when the pedal is at the bottom. First the ECG electrodes, a blood pressure cuff on your arm and an oxygen monitor are attached. Cycling starts at 50 watts. Every 2 minutes your blood pressure is measured, the ECG recorded and the load increased by a further 25–50 watts. As a rule, lactate measurements are also taken to assess mitochondrial metabolism.
When the target work capacity or maximum heart rate is reached, or if symptoms occur (tightness in the chest, leg pain, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, etc.), which you must report immediately, the test is stopped. Your pulse and blood pressure continue to be measured over the following minutes to determine the recovery time needed. This increases with age (compare small children at play, who hardly ever need to "recover").
Preparation: do not arrive at the practice in a rush or with sore muscles from training. You should not be fasting, but should not have eaten a large meal beforehand either. If possible, wear a tracksuit or light clothes, trainers and socks. You may shower before the test, but do not apply body lotion, as this impairs the contact of the electrodes. You will probably sweat during the test, so please bring a flannel and a towel. You will appreciate freshening up afterwards.
Sample results
The grey shaded area is the blood pressure.
The solid line is the pulse
The steps show the load on the bicycle.
Good result
Hidden high blood pressure
Blood pressure medication too strong
Back to normal without blood pressure medication
How much should you be able to manage?
You can use this chart to work out your target performance. Connect your height on the left with your age on the right. Note: the chart on the right distinguishes between men and women.
1 watt corresponds to the work of a person lifting 100 grams by 1 metre in one second. About 750 watts correspond to 1 horsepower.