How to Achieve Maximum Heart Rate on a Treadmill Test

A treadmill or cardiac stress test is typically used to determine heart health and possible cardiac problems in patients at risk for heart disease, or to determine endurance (VO2max) in athletes. VO2max is the maximum volume of oxygen a person can use, per body weight, in a particular period of time.

Things You'll Need

• Doctor, technician or assistant (do not do the test alone)
• Blood pressure monitoring equipment
• EKG
• Treadmill (or, in some cases, stationary bicycle)
• Stopwatch
• Heart rate monitor

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Instructions

• 1

  Attach monitoring equipment (EKG and/or blood pressure).

• 2

  Step onto treadmill; begin walking at a moderate pace (2.74 km/hr) and on a slight incline (10 percent).

• 3

  Increase the speed of the treadmill and the incline at three-minute intervals.

• 4

  Continue to increase the speed and incline until exhaustion sets in OR until other measures (such as heart rate, EKG, and blood pressure) indicate it's time to stop. In order to measure VO2max, the test should continue until exhaustion sets in.

• 5

  Continue until you reach a heart rate of 220 minus your age (maximum heart rate). It is not recommended that you continue to exercise at your maximum heart rate; target heart rates for physical fitness are typically 55 percent to 90 percent of maximum heart rate.

• 6

  If the test is to determine VO2max, the total time spent on the treadmill can be used to calculate this value. If the test is a cardiac stress test, your doctor may do other tests while your heart rate is high.