About Dobutamine stress echocardiography

In which cases is the test justified?

In special cases, it is necessary to test the function of the heart not only at rest, but also under increased stress. This is done by stress echocardiography, which can have several purposes: to assess the viability of the myocardium in coronary artery disease, and abnormalities in myocardial motion during the examination may indicate a diseased coronary artery.

If coronary artery disease has already been confirmed (e.g. in the case of coronary stenosis of uncertain degree or no complaint, confirmed by previous cardiac CT scans, or a previously placed stent), stress echocardiography can provide additional valuable information on whether further investigation (e.g. coronary catheterisation) or coronary stenting is needed. Ezen kívül bizonyos billentyűbetegségekben is szükség lehet a bal kamra pumpafunkciójának terhelés alatti vizsgálatára.

Preparation and procedure of the study

What the patient should do before the examination:

• Do not eat or drink 4 hours before the examination. The day’s medication can be taken early in the morning with a sip of water, except for beta-blocker type drugs;
• 48 hours before the test, you should stop taking beta-blocker drugs (ask your doctor or GP for help);
• arrive with an accompanying person;
• you must not drive on the same day, as you will also be given a drug (atropine) which temporarily dilates the pupil, thus impairing the focusing ability of the eye.

At our cardiology centre, the “stress” required for the test is mimicked by the administration of an intravenous drug (dobutamine), according to pre-defined protocols that comply with international recommendations.

The test takes approximately 30 minutes.