New and advanced diagnostic tests and tools are constantly being introduced to further understand the complexity of disease, injury, and congenital (present at birth) or acquired abnormalities. The following are just a few of the diagnostic tests that have been used or are being used to further understand and identify cardiovascular disease. For more specific information, consult your cardiologist or other health care provider:
Electrocardiogram (ECG): A test that records the electrical activity of the heart, shows abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias), and can sometimes detect heart muscle damage.
Stress test ( also called treadmill or exercise ECG): A test that is given while a person walks on a treadmill or pedals a stationary bike to monitor the heart during exercise. Breathing and blood pressure rates are also monitored. A stress test may be used to detect coronary artery disease, and/or to determine safe levels of exercise following a heart attack or heart surgery.
Echocardiogram (also known as echo): A noninvasive test that uses sound waves to evaluate the heart’s chambers and valves. The echo sound waves create an image on the monitor as an ultrasound probe is passed over the heart.
Holter monitor: A small, portable, battery-powered ECG machine worn by a person to record heartbeats on tape over a period of 24 to 48 hours during normal activities. At the end of the time period, the monitor is returned to the doctor’s office so the tape can be read and evaluated.
Cardiac catheterization (also called coronary angiogram): A test in which a small catheter (hollow tube) is guided through the large artery in the upper leg, or sometimes the wrist or arm, into the heart. Dye is given through the catheter, and moving X-ray pictures are made as the dye travels through the heart. This comprehensive test shows: narrowings in the arteries, heart chamber size, pumping ability of the heart, and ability of the valves to open and close, as well as a measurement of the pressures within the heart chambers and arteries.