Diagnosis for Heart Disease
As soon as you suspect you are exhibiting the signs and symptoms of a heart disease, it is important to consult your doctor right away for proper diagnosis. This is very important to assess the extent of your heart problem and avoid certain complications from developing.
How is Heart Disease Diagnosed?
Diagnosing a heart disease is a complex process that involves more than one test. This is to ensure that other conditions with similar symptoms are excluded and to determine the most suitable treatment plan to use. When you meet with your doctor for the first time, you are asked to provide basic health information or asked a series of questions to assess your medical history.
The questions are focused around gathering symptoms that would determine your risk factor and other important details related to your current condition. Then, you will be subjected to a series of diagnostic test that will provide information not readily available during physical examination.
Screening and Diagnostic Test
As mentioned above, suspected patients of heart disease undergo more than a single test to verify whether they have this condition or not. These tests will vary depending on the result of your physical examination, risk factors for heart disease, possible symptoms, and family history of this condition.
These specific tests are discussed in brief below.
Blood Test
This is one of the most basic tests performed on individuals who suspect they might be suffering from a heart disease. It initially begins with a glucose test, which measures the amount of sugar present in your blood and is also conducted to determine whether a patient has diabetes.
Another information that is evaluated during your blood test is the lipid panel, which determines the amount of triglycerides and cholesterol. Finally, the CRP test is conducted wherein your CRP or C-reactive protein is measured since the amount of protein in your blood indicate an inflammation.
Stress Test
It is easier to diagnose a heart disease when it is beating fast and hard. Hence, during this type of test, the patient is asked to exercise or take medicine to increase the beat of your heart. During this particular test, several information are returned such as blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. However, it is important to perform an EKG before and after this test is done.
Nuclear Heart Scan Test
In this particular test, the insides of your heart are shown that makes any damages in your heart visible using a tiny radioactive material that is injected through your arm and into the veins. Then, an accompanying tool or scanning camera is positioned near the heart to record whatever the nuclear material introduced inside the body was able to capture.
You can also use it to determine any inconsistencies with the pumping action of the heart. You can perform this test either at rest or during exercise and it will deliver accurate results.
Electrocardiogram
This is also known as EKG or ECG, which is a type of diagnostic test for heart disease that measures the electrical activity of the heart. This test will determine whether your heart is damaged or if your heart rate is abnormal.
Echocardiogram
In this type of diagnostic test for heart disease, the doctors use sound waves to examine the state of an individual's cardiac system. Like ECG, it could be done during exercise or while at rest.