Recent technologic advances have yielded diverse techniques for studying myocardial ischemia, a useful functional expression of coronary artery disease. These techniques have revealed new characteristics and expanded our understanding of myocardial ischemia. In turn this has led to the establishment of more realistic and discriminating criteria on which to base diagnostic and management decisions. Many of the techniques are noninvasive and can be performed in the cardiologist's office. These include treadmill exercise testing; radioisotope techniques, including ejection fraction studies, stress thallium scintigraphy, and tomographic imaging; and ambulatory monitoring. Other, newer techniques include provocative tests that induce ischemia in patients who cannot exercise. These new noninvasive tests should be used to detect transient ischemia, estimate its severity, and thus record a measure of the patient's risk for adverse coronary events.