Ask the doctor: Understanding conflicting test results
The results of my recent stress test indicated I may have blockages in my coronary arteries. However, when I followed up with a cardiac catheterization, my arteries looked clear. How can that be?With a false negative result, the test will not find evidence of coronary artery disease even though the heart arteries are significantly narrowed. There are many reasons a stress test might produce a false negative result. Blockages in smaller blood vessels can be missed, or certain parts of the heart muscle may be harder to assess. Therefore, if a doctor still suspects heart disease after a normal stress test, he or she may recommend another test, such as cardiac catheterization, to sort things out.
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