HomeAnswersCardiologyangiographyTMT is positive. Should we take angiography or stress echo test?

TMT is positive. Should we take angiography or stress echo test?

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

Medically reviewed by

Dr. K. Shobana

Published At May 30, 2018
Reviewed AtJune 12, 2023

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

My wife is 47 years old. Suddenly in sleep, she felt palpitations two to three days back and we went to the hospital and found ECG normal. Echo test is normal, Trop I test is normal but TMT is positive. The doctor advised to go for angiography but another doctor says that before angiography we should go for stress echo test. Please advise what has to be done first.

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Firstly, let me know if she has any risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, deranged lipid profile or family history of heart disease. Usually, what we do, since angiography is an invasive test, we make sure that the patient needs it or not. So initially, subjects the patients to minor tests like TMT (treadmill test) or stress echo or stress thallium. If either of the tests is abnormal then it is better to subject to the patient to angiography. Now, in our case, since her TMT is positive, it is better to subject her for angiography. There is no harm in having stress echo, but suppose it is positive then certainly she will need angiography. But if it is negative then we can again land up in a dilemma of which test to be relied upon. Then she will need some more tests like stress or CT coronary angiography to prove TMT was negative. So it is better to get an angiography done and clear all our doubts. There is sufficient evidence of abnormalities and angiography is a gold standard test. Also, discuss how strongly was TMT positive. If it is strongly positive then nothing to think and go ahead with angiography and if it is mild positive then you may think of stress echo. So overall, it is better to undergo angiography and no harm in stress echo if your doctor insists.

Patient's Query

Thank you doctor,

She is not diabetic, no heart disease in her family background, not hypertension, but sometimes during a walk, she feels heaviness in her chest, about TNT she worked out it for 4.5 minutes. Also, suggest that if there are any side effects of angiography.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

If she feels heaviness then certainly she should get an angiography done. Also, she just worked for 4.5 minutes. So, she will need it. Angiography is usually a safe procedure, some risk of bleeding is there. Very small risk of major complications (0.1 percent) is there.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Sagar Ramesh Makode
Dr. Sagar Ramesh Makode

Cardiology

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