- Blood Tests
- EKG
- Chest X Ray
A variety of health factors indicate your chance of having a cardiovascular event such as heart attack or stroke.
Age, hereditary factors, high cholesterol, weight, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, exercise history, and diabetes are all important in determining your risk for heart disease.
Blood tests
The comprehensive metabolic panel, or chemical screen, (CMP) is a panel of 14 blood tests that serves as an initial broad medical screening tool. The CMP provides a rough check of kidney function, liver function, diabetic and parathyroid status, and electrolyte and fluid balance.
The CMP is an expanded version of the basic metabolic panel (BMP), which does not include liver tests. A CMP (or BMP) can be ordered as part of a routine physical examination, or may be used to monitor a patient with a chronic disease, such as diabetes mellitus or hypertension.
Previous names for the panel of tests have been Chem 12, Chemistry panel, Chemistry screen, SMA 12, SMA 20 and SMAC (Sequential Multiple Analysis – Computer).
The lipid profile measures cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, “good” cholesterol), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, “bad” cholesterol). Triglycerides are the major form of fat found in the body and their function is to provide energy for the cells. Below are the desirable ranges for the components of the lipid profile:
- Cholesterol <200 mg/dL (5.18 mmol/L)
- HDL-cholesterol > 40 mg/dL (1.04 mmol/L)
- LDL-cholesterol <100 mg/dL* (2.59 mmol/L)
- Triglycerides <150 mg/dL (1.70 mmol/L)
Other blood tests that may be used to assess your cardiac risk include:
- High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP): Studies have shown that measuring CRP with a high sensitivity test can help identify risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This test is different from the regular CRP test, which detects elevated levels of CRP in people with infections and inflammatory diseases.
- Lipoprotein a: Lp(a) is a lipoprotein and is similar to LDL-C but does not respond to typical strategies to lower LDL-C such as diet, exercise, or most lipid-lowering drugs. Since the level of Lp(a) appears to be genetically determined and not easily altered, the presence of a high level of Lp(a) may be used to identify individuals who might benefit from more aggressive treatment of other risk factors
All of these contribute to information that your doctor needs to make an optimal recommendation for your care.
Apart from these, if a procedure is considered, your doctor will need to order a variety of tests that may include a chest X-ray, an EKG, lung function tests and urinalysis, as well as a variety of blood tests such as a CBC (your blood count), Coagulation profile (how well does your blood clot), Electrolytes (kidney function), ABG (arterial blood gas) and HIV profile.
Remember this:
- A heart healthy lifestyle is important in reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides, but sometimes even healthy lifestyle is not sufficient. Some conditions involving elevated lipids levels are hereditary and medications may needed to reach normal cholesterol levels.
- Some people are more at risk for a heart attack than others. If you are overweight, smoke, have a high blood pressure or diabetes, abnormal risk test results, and/or have a family history of heart disease, you are at a greater risk.
The electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a test that is used to measure the electrical activity of your heart. By positioning leads (electrical sensing devices) on the body in standardized locations, information about many heart conditions can be learned by looking for characteristic patterns on the EKG.
An EKG is done to:
- Check the heart’s electrical activity.
- Find the cause of unexplained chest pain or pressure. This could be caused by a heart attack, inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart (pericarditis), or angina.
- Find the cause of symptoms of heart disease. Symptoms include shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and heartbeats that are rapid and irregular (palpitations).
- Find out if the walls of the heart chambers are too thick.
- Check how well medicines are working and see if they are causing side effects that affect the heart.
- Check how well mechanical devices that are implanted in the heart, such as pacemakers, are working. These devices help to control the heartbeat.
- Check the health of the heart when other diseases or conditions are present. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and a family history of early heart disease.
The chest x–ray is the most commonly performed diagnostic x–rayexamination. A chest x–ray produces images of the heart, lungs, airways, blood vessels and the bones of the spine and chest. An x–ray(radiograph) is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.