The exercise stress test could be regarded as an important part of screening for cardiac abnormalities. My personal opinion – in young people in whom the commonest cause of sudden death is from the cardiomyopathies or the ion channel diseases, is that an ECG and an echocardiogram alone is enough. However, there are lots of people out there that play sport that are aged over 35 years of age. In that group, the commonest cause of sudden death are blocked arteries and in that group, the most important investigation would be an exercise stress test. So an exercise test for people over 35; in people below 35, an ECG and echocardiogram will suffice.
