Cardiopulmonary Stress Test

A CPX test, or a cardiopulmonary stress test, is a special treadmill often used for people with a form of heart failure. This treadmill not only takes an ECG during exercise, but also measures the gas exchange in your lungs at the same time. Your doctor may ask you to take a CPX test to help determine whether or not you have any cardiac or respiratory limitations during exercise and how well the heart pumps blood to the muscles. This information is needed to determine the best exercise prescription for you.

Wear loose comfortable clothing the day of the test. Also wear comfortable walking shoes or athletic shoes for the test. Eat a light meal the day of the test, and take your medications just like you normally would. An exercise physiologist, a doctor and a nurse will be present during your test.

During the test you will be hooked up to electrodes that will take an electrocardiogram of the heart. You will breathe into a breath analyzer that measures the gas exchange in your lungs. An oximeter will be placed on your finger to determine the percent of oxygen in your blood during the exercise. Your blood pressure and pulse will be taken at regular intervals during the test.

The treadmill starts out at a slow walking pace with no incline. The pace is gradually increased depending on how well you do during the test. If at any point during the test you feel like you have had enough, you can give the "thumbs down" signal to the exercise physiologist and doctor to slow down the treadmill and stop the test.

The results of the test will help your doctor determine a target heart rate for you to work towards when exercising and will help determine the best exercise for you.