Since you will be exercising, be sure to wear comfortable clothing and proper footwear for riding a bicycle. Do not wear a dress, skirt or full slip. You will be wearing EKG leads on your chest, so you should not wear one-piece outfits or clothing that prevents easy access to your chest. Closed toe shoes are required for testing. Do not wear high heels, sandals or flip flops. This type of clothing and foot wear make pedaling a bicycle quite difficult. Do not eat or drink (except water) for 3 hours before your test. Exercise or physical labor should be avoided for 24 hours before your test. Bring a list of your current medications with you to your test. Your doctor’s office will tell you if you are supposed to take your medications before the test, but if you are unsure, contact your doctor. If you have any questions about your test, please contact your doctor’s office and ask to speak with the MET-TEST technician. (S)he will answer any questions you might have, or direct you to the proper person who can answer your questions.

You cannot have any caffeine in a drink or food for at least 3 hours before your appointment.

You may only drink water during the 3 hours before your appointment.

Your physician will instruct you about taking your medication. If you did not receive any instructions, take your medications as usual. You may contact your physician’s office if you are not sure what to do.

A report will be delivered to your physician within 24-48 hours of testing. You will follow up with your doctor about the results.

Strenuous physical work should be avoided for at least 24 hours before the test. Moderate exercise and activities are acceptable.

During a CPET the exercise is performed on a stationary bicycle, which has several advantages over a treadmill. Some think that a treadmill is better for stress testing because people are more used to walking than riding a bicycle. However, walking on a treadmill is significantly different than walking down the street. When walking on a treadmill, the ground moves but the body does not. The patient has no control over the treadmill and if the patient cannot keep pace, there is a great chance for falling. Therefore, many people are frightened of doing an exercise stress test. In reality, people are not any more used to walking on a treadmill than riding a stationary bicycle.

The main diagnostic tool of a treadmill stress test is the EKG. Unfortunately, the up and down body motion generated from walking on a treadmill can cause artifact in the EKG signal and make the EKG difficult to accurately interpret. This movement also makes it difficult to take an accurate blood pressure reading, especially if an automatic blood pressure cuff is used. During a CPET, the bicycle allows the upper body to remain stationary, which usually results in clear EKG and blood pressure recordings. Although the EKG and blood pressure are secondary measurements during the CPET they are often more accurate than when a treadmill is used.

During a CPET the increases in workload are adjusted for each patient so that almost everyone exercises for 8-12 minutes. This ensures that enough information is collected to make an accurate interpretation of the test results. During a traditional stress test the speed and incline of the treadmill increases in large jumps, jolting the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. This sudden increase in stress on the body can be too much for the patient to handle, causing some to stop the test early. In contrast, the bicycle allows for the exercise level to be increased very gradually, a little at a time. This gentle increase in work load lets the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems smoothly reach their maximal levels.