ABSTRACT
Stress testing remains the cornerstone of noninvasive evaluation of coronary heart disease (CHD). The most commonly used forms of stress testing in the United States are standard exercise treadmill testing and stress imaging. The most frequently utilized stress imaging procedures include single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and echocardiography. The stress modalities employed with these imaging technologies include treadmill exercise or intravenous infusion of a pharmacologic agent (most commonly the vasodilators adenosine or dipyridamole with SPECT and the synthetic sympathomimetic dobutamine with echocardiography). This chapter will focus on standard exercise treadmill testing and stress SPECT in women. Stress echocardiography and nuclear imaging procedures other than stress SPECT are addressed elsewhere (see Chapter 11).
