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Dobutamine Stress Echo

Patients who have physical limitations that restrict their ability to exercise may be best assessed with a pharmacologic stress echo.

This involves the use of a medication called dobutamine which is infused intravenously to simulate the effects of exercise. Images of the heart both before and during the infusion are compared, to evaluate how the heart responds to stress.

Stress echoes are used to assess the narrowing of the coronary arteries and the functional effects of valve disease.

Dr Nowakowski is a highly trained cardiologist in Canberra and reports a large number of Dobutamine stress echo procedures. He completed a two year fellowship in stress echo at world-renowned centres of excellence in Australia and Canada and has a particular interest in the evaluation of patients with chest pain. He is clinical lead of echocardiography at The Canberra Hospital.