Tests & Diagnosis

Electrocardiograms (ECG or EKG) are performed by placing electrode patches on your chest, arms, and legs and connecting them to a machine. The sensors pick up electrical activity in your heart and send the results to a printer and monitor. This test can provide a lot of information, including your heart rate and heart rhythm, and can help determine if you’re having a heart attack. It can also locate the damage.

An echocardiogram, also known as an ECHO, is a simple test in which high-frequency sound waves bounce off your heart to create an image of its structures. Using a sound probe placed on your chest, your doctor can see an image of your heart’s pumping action and how the valves are working.

An exercise stress test, sometimes called a “treadmill test,” can find coronary heart disease or blocked arteries. It can help assess the cause of chest pain. If you have this test, you will walk on a treadmill while a technician monitors your symptoms, blood pressure and an electrocardiogram. If you need this test but cannot exercise, your care team will stress your heart with medications that mimic the effect exercise would have on you.

Exercise echocardiography is another type of stress test. It combines exercise and echocardiogram pictures to show the contraction of your heart. Like exercise stress tests, medications can be used if you cannot workout.

This monitoring includes Holter monitoring and event monitoring. Both tests give your doctor information about your heart’s response to normal daily activities over a period of time.

These tests can be done for several days or longer, depending on the information needed.

These tests use a small amount of a radioactive agent to study blood flow, how the chambers of your heart are functioning and how big they are. The tests might be used to monitor the progress of disease. They can be done with an exercise stress test.