Put Your Heart to Test - ECG, angiography, stress tests...

ECG, angiography, stress tests...if these words stress you out, read on to know more about the sophisticated technology now available to detect heart problems

THE process of diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) starts from talking to patients about symptoms,medical history and obvious high risk factors like family history,smoking,diabetes,high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Tests to detect CAD are devised to determine cardiac functioning measuring electrical activity and the pumping action of the heart & can be categorised into:

• The ECG or the electrocardiogram is a record of the electrical activity of the heart.
• The Echo or Echocardiogram is a test that uses ultrasound to make images of the heart.It can be used to assess the health of the valves and chambers of the heart,as well as to measure the pumping ability of the heart.
• Radiographic tests like X-ray create pictures of the internal structures of the chest. Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) allow physicians to take a closer look at the heart and vessels.
• Coronary Angiography is a diagnostic test in which contrast dye is injected into the blood stream in order to evaluate the anatomy and function of the heart and surrounding blood vessels. It can be done by Cardiac catheterisation or by CT Angiography.
• The nuclear heart scan (also called Radionuclide Imaging or Radionuclide Ventriculography) uses radioactive tracers to outline the heart chambers and major blood vessels leading to and from the heart. It is used in the diagnosis of heart disease, valve disorders or heart failure.
• PET (positron emission tomography or cardiac viability study) uses radioactive tracers to create 3-D pictures of the tissues inside the body. It is useful in patients who are unable to exercise on a treadmill or stationary cycle. Says Prof Dr G N Mahapatra, consultant and head of dept of Nuclear Medicine and RIA, Saifee Hospital, “This technique is the gold standard to assess if patients will benefit from bypass surgery or angioplasty procedure.”
• The Electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT) identifies calcium within the plaque found in the arteries. More the calcium, the higher the chances of CAD.

All these tests can be used to determine heart function and status at “rest”and under “stress”conditions.