Patient Education Caring For Your Heart Booklet | Page 9

The ultrasound waves create a picture
of the size of your heart chambers and
valves, as well as their movements as
your heart beats.
Diagnosing Angina and
Heart Attacks
Your doctor may order several tests to
help confi rm that you do indeed have
angina.
Stress Test
Your doctor can diagnose a heart attack
by:
During a stress test, you walk on
a treadmill while hooked up to an
EKG machine. The EKG shows how
your heart responds to the stress and
increased need for oxygen as you walk
on the treadmill. A small dose of a
radioactive material may be given to
allow pictures of your heart to be taken
during the test.
 The intensity of your symptoms.
 The results of blood studies: Damaged
heart tissue releases substances into
the blood called cardiac enzymes.
 Whether an EKG shows certain
changes.
You start off at a slow pace, heading
slightly uphill. Then the incline and
speed of the treadmill are slowly
increased. Once you have reached your
limit, the treadmill will slow down as you
complete the test.
Cardiac Diagnostic Tests
A number of tests are used to diagnose
heart problems. You may have some of
these tests in the hospital. Others may be
done as an outpatient.
Stress Test with Medication
EKG
In this test, rather than having you
walk on a treadmill, medication is used
to stress your heart. A small dose of a
radioactive material may be given to
allow pictures of your heart to be taken
during the test. The test takes several
hours to complete. An echocardiogram
may be done along with a medication
stress test.
An EKG (electrocardiogram or ECG) is
a record of the electrical impulses of
the heart. This test is painless. Electric
sensors are placed on the chest, arms,
and legs. These sensors detect the heart’s
electrical activity and record it. This
record shows the heart rhythm, damage
to the heart muscle if it’s present, and
other signs of heart disease.
Stress Echocardiogram
Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram, which takes
about 15 minutes, is performed fi rst
while you are at rest. Then you
exercise on a treadmill or are given a
medicine to stress your heart. A second
echocardiogram is done after exercise.
In this test, ultrasound waves are
bounced off the heart muscle and
recorded as electrical impulses on a
screen, where they show up as bright
blips. The echocardiogram shows the
heart’s form and how well it functions.
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