Safety of stress echocardiography supervised by registered nurses: results of a 2-year audit of 15,404 patients.

Background: Stress echocardiography has traditionally been performed under the supervision of physicians. In the last decade, at some institutions, specially trained registered nurses have taken on the task of directly supervising and conducting these stress tests with appropriate physician involvement and assistance.

Methods: The safety of 15,404 stress echocardiograms that were performed under the direct supervision of registered nurses during a recent 2-year period was evaluated.