Why A Stress Test May Not Be Enough

By Sora Song

The widely used stress test, or treadmill test, may not be finely tuned enough to catch early heart disease, says a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers found that 56% of the more than 1,000 patients who passed a treadmill test, which measures how well the heart withstands exercise, scored above 100 on a follow-up screen for coronary calcium deposits. That puts them at elevated risk for a heart attack within five years. The study's authors say at-risk patients--such as smokers, diabetics or those with high cholesterol or blood pressure--should get a coronary calcium scan, even if they ace their stress test. --By Sora Song