Anatomic and Functional Targets of Stress Testing

Abstract

The principle of stress under controlled conditions for the diagnosis of coronary disease, as for any disease, is derived from the Industrial Revolution: for instance, metallic materials undergo endurance tests to identify the breaking load. With this approach it is possible to identify structural defects which, although occult in the resting or static state, might show up in the loading conditions of real life and lead to a dysfunction of the industrial product. In the same way, a patient with clinical and laboratory signs within normal limits in resting conditions undergoes a stress test to identify a potential vulnerability of the myocardium to ischemia if the clinical suspicion of ischemic heart disease exists.

The substance of the drama, Sir, is that each believes himself to be just one. But it is not true, he is many, however you consider the matter. One is like this, another like that — totally different

Luigi Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author