Health Information

Your doctor may suspect that you have angina based on your symptoms and risk of coronary artery disease. The doctor will check your background to see if you smoke (or smoked) and if you have diabetes and high blood pressure. Ask about family history and check your cholesterol levels, including LDL (commonly called “bad” cholesterol) and HDL (commonly called “good cholesterol”).

Check your blood pressure and pulse, and examine your heart and lungs. You may need one or more diagnostic tests to determine if you have coronary artery disease. Tests may include:

* Electrocardiogram (EKG) is a record of electrical impulses from your heart. It can identify problems in the frequency and heart rate. Sometimes it can show changes that indicate a blocked artery.

* Stress test: If your ECG is normal and can walk, ask for a stress test. Walk on a treadmill while monitoring your heart rate. Other stress tests use drugs to stimulate the heart, injecting contrast material (dye) to detect blockages and take ultrasound images to provide more information.

* Coronary angiography: the x-ray of the coronary arteries are the most accurate way to measure the severity of coronary disease. This inserts a thin tube, long and flexible (called a catheter) through an artery in the arm or groin. The doctor guides the catheter into the heart using a special camera. Once the catheter is placed, the dye is injected to show the blood flow inside the coronary arteries, highlighting any areas that are narrowed or blocked.

Possibility Related Posts:

• Angina Pectoris Prognosis
  When To Call a Professional Call your doctor if you experience chest pain, even if you think you are too young to have angina pectoris and no history of heart problems in his family. Your doctor wi...
• Angina Pectoris Treatment
  When the cause of angina is coronary artery disease, treatment usually includes: * Changes in lifestyle, including weight loss for obese patients, smoking cessation therapy, drugs to reduce high ch...
• Angina Pectoris Prevention
  Duration A crisis of angina usually lasts less than five minutes. Pain that lasts longer than that or acute may suggest a more significant decrease in blood flow to heart. This can happen when some...
• Angina Pectoris
  Angina is discomfort or pain in the chest when not enough oxygen-rich blood to heart muscle cells. It is not a disease but a symptom of a more serious condition, often a coronary artery disease in whi...
• Cardiac Disorders
  Heart disease include a multitude of diseases related to malfunctioning of the heart or its blood vessels. This fact sheet focuses on two specific cardiac disorders: * Angina pectoris; * Myocardia...