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More Information about ECGs

At Doctor Today we offer two kinds of ECGs: Regular ECGs (£100) and Exercise ECGs (£150).

Regular ECGs

Regular ECGs are done at rest, and are designed to pick up disturbances of heart rate, rhythm and electrical conduction. They may also show evidence of the effects of high blood pressure, and other potentially dangerous conditions such as Brugada syndrome, Wolff-Parkinson-White and poor blood supply to the heart muscle (ischaemia). Regular ECGs are suitable as part of the general assessment for palpitations, chest pain, breathlessness at rest or as a pre-operative assessment for over 45s.

When you have a regular ECG with us, it is a full 12 lead study that is read by an experienced doctor who will give you a report which can be used by any doctor to whom you may subsequently be referred. If abnormalities are found which need attention, a recommendation will usually be made for further evaluation by a cardiologist, which we can arrange.

Exercise ECGs

An Exercise ECG is done in three parts and is a much more comprehensive test designed to show up abnormalities when the heart is moderately exercised. It is suitable as a general test for aerobic fitness (short period), and also for pre-employment medicals for strenuous occupations in persons who have not suffered heart disease in the past. In the latter case, it is your responsibility to ensure that this test will be acceptable to any prospective employer. In additional, you should not take caffeine-containing drinks or alcohol for at least 12 hours prior to the test.

If there is a history of heart disease or angina (chest pain on effort) this is NOT the appropriate test, and we recommend the full Bruce Protocol Stress ECG, or stress echocardiography, which we can arrange for you at one of our partner hospitals.

Before starting the test, we will ask you screening questions relating to previous medical problems, the reason for doing the test, any cardiac risk factors such as smoking or medications. Your blood pressure and pulse will be measured, along with your height and weight. If it is judged you are fit enough to proceed, the first part is a regular ECG as above. Then you will be asked to do a test of nine minutes exercise on a computerised exercise cycle. The programme is designed to be equivalent to the Bruce Protocol in that each 3 minutes is a stage at the end of which a pulse check is done and the resistance and speed targets are increased according to the computer programme. The first post-exercise ECG is done at the end of 9 minutes, or earlier if you drop out because of breathlessness, chest pain or tiredness. The second post-exercise is done three minutes after the first one, again with blood pressure and pulse checks, to assess the fitness by recovery of the pulse rate.

There is a full report of the 12-lead ECG at each stage, with an assessment of fitness. General advice relating to your blood pressure and the need for further blood tests may also be given. There will also be a recommendation as to whether, in our opinion, any specialist cardiologist evaluation is required. This could be carried out through the NHS or we would be happy to refer you to a cardiology service local to your home.

Note that the monitoring of the ECG during the exercise period is NOT continuous as it is in the full Bruce Protocol, which is why it is not suitable for those who are suspected of or known to have heart disease. That is why we ensure there will always be a medical doctor nearby to attend to you should you develop chest pain during the exercise ECG, which of course you should report to the attending doctor or nurse.

Please do not hesitate to email us at enquiries@doctortoday.co.uk or call us on 020 7433 1444 if you have any further questions or wish to make an appointment.