How safe is a Stress Echo test?
There are no known adverse effects from the ultrasound used during Echo imaging. The risk of the stress portion of the test is rare and similar to what you would expect from any strenuous form of exercise (jogging in your neighborhood, running up a flight of stairs, etc.). As noted earlier, experienced medical staff is in attendance to manage the rare complications like sustained abnormal heart rhythm, unrelieved chest pain or even a heart attack. These problems could potentially have occurred if the same patient performed an equivalent level of exercise at home or on a jogging track.
