Your heart supports the moments that make up your everyday life — from staying active, pursuing the activities you enjoy, to simply having the energy to move through your day. Understanding your cardiovascular health provides a clearer picture of how your heart is working today and what may deserve attention over time.
At Stem Health, cardiovascular testing is part of a physician-led health assessment. Different tests provide different insights: an ECG looks at the heart’s electrical activity, exercise testing shows how your heart responds under demand and imaging can provide a closer look at the arteries. Together, these findings help your physician understand your cardiovascular health in context.
A quiet view of your heart’s rhythm
An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) records the electrical signals that accompany each heartbeat. During a resting ECG, small adhesive sensors are placed on your skin while you lie still. These sensors capture your heart’s electrical activity and create a tracing that your physician reviews.
The test provides insight into your heart rate, rhythm and how electrical signals move through the heart. It offers an important view of your heart at rest, while other assessments may provide information about how it responds during activity or what is happening within the arteries.
Stem includes resting ECG testing within its Core and Horizon assessments.
Seeing how your heart responds to movement
Your heart works differently during activity than it does at rest. A treadmill stress ECG allows your care team to observe how your heart responds as physical demand gradually increases – Sensors record your heart’s electrical activity while your heart rate and blood pressure are monitored as the workload changes.
The assessment provides information about your heart’s response to exercise and your capacity for physical activity. It may help your physician understand symptoms you experience during movement or provide context for recommendations around exercise.
Before testing begins, your experience matters. Your usual activity level, any limitations and symptoms you have noticed all help your care team understand the results in the right context. During the test, how you feel is part of what is being assessed.
Looking more closely at the arteries
A complete picture of cardiovascular health includes understanding not only how the heart functions, but also the health of the arteries that support it. Imaging provides information that an ECG alone cannot.
A coronary calcium scan measures calcified plaque in the coronary arteries. CT coronary angiography provides more detailed images of those arteries when additional information is needed.
Within Horizon’s cardiovascular assessment options, Stem also includes plaque characterization, which looks at both the amount and composition of plaque to provide further detail.
The decision to use additional imaging depends on the question your physician is trying to answer. Factors such as symptoms, family history, bloodwork and previous findings all help determine whether further assessment may be useful.
Understanding why a test is recommended helps put it into context — not simply as another scan, but as information that may guide your care.
Bringing the findings together
Cardiovascular health is shaped by more than one measurement. Bloodwork, such as the biomarkers discussed in Stem’s biomarker overview, adds another layer of information about cardiovascular risk.
Each assessment provides a different perspective. The ECG looks at electrical activity. Exercise testing shows how your heart responds under demand. Imaging examines aspects of the arteries themselves.
Collectively, these findings give your physician a more complete understanding of your cardiovascular health alongside your history, symptoms, lifestyle and goals.
A heart assessment can offer reassurance as well as insight — helping you understand what is working well, what may need attention and how to support your health over time.
To explore cardiovascular testing at Stem, visit the health assessment page or book a private conversation with the Stem Health team.
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