PET scan

A PET scan

The PET (positron emission tomography)  scan involves a small amount of radioactive material that must enter your body. This substance will help to reveal what part of your body has an abnormally high or low chemical activity.

When receiving a PET scan to look for indication of heart disease the goal is to see where there might be areas in the heart that have a decreased blood flow. The radioactive material enters your body intravenously. You might feel a cold sensation moving up your arm. This is typical and temporary.

When trying to determine damage to the heart this test is often so indicate if angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery might beneficial.

·         Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) a

·         Heart scan (coronary calcium scan) a

·         C-reactive protein test a

·         Stress test  a

·         Nuclear stress test a

·         Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

·         SPECT scan

·         Blood tests for heart disease

8 common diagnostic tests for the Heart #5: Nuclear stress test

Nuclear stress test   

A Nuclear stress test may be ordered to help your doctor determine treatments for your condition. A nuclear stress test is similar to a regular stress test (discussed earlier) but it also incorporates the use of a radioactive dye that is injected into your blood stream during the highest activity rate of your heart. This dye travels throughout your veins and enables an image (similar to an X-ray) to be taken of your heart muscle. This image will show where the blood flows freely and where it does not. Any damaged heart tissue or damaged or diseased arteries will also show up.

This test will help your physician in treatment and diagnosis of coronary heart disease, enlarged heart, or other heart disorders. This test also measures your hearts pumping function.

A typical nuclear stress test includes images taken of your heart during high activity and at rest. The first images are routinely taken when your heart reaches its active level, and then another set of images are taken about 2 hours later when your heart is at rest.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDiseaseScreening/story?id=4222350

8 common  diagnostic tests for the Heart

·         Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) a

·         Heart scan (coronary calcium scan) a

·         C-reactive protein test a

·         Stress test  a

·         Nuclear stress test

·         Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

·         SPECT scan

·         Blood tests for heart disease

8 common diagnostic tests for the Heart #4

STRESS TEST

A stress test or an exercise test is used to gather information about how well your heart works when it is exerted.

A stress test may be ordered to aid in diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease (damaged or diseased arteries), or Heart Arrhythmia (irregular electrical impulses of the heart). 

A stress test may also be used to help guide the doctor on the path to treating previously diagnosed heart disorders.

During a stress test you will have electrodes attached to your chest, leg and arm. Tour heart is monitored through an ECG/EKG, and your blood pressure is monitored through a cuff that you wear on your arm.

The test begins by slowly walking on a treadmill or riding a stationery bike. Resistance will increase as the test progresses to raise your heart rate. Tests vary, but ordinarily the desire is to raise your heart rate for approximately 12 minutes in order to thoroughly examine its performance.

8 common  diagnostic tests for the Heart

·         Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) a

·         Heart scan (coronary calcium scan) a

·         C-reactive protein test a

·         Stress test 

·         Nuclear stress test

·         Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

·         SPECT scan

·         Blood tests for heart disease

ECG

An ElectroCardio Gram is a non-invasive, pain free test that monitors the elecrical currents that cause your heart to beat. It can detect irregularities in your heart rythm that will help the doctor to diagnose any problems. An ECG or EKG can detect:

• Irregularities in your heart rhythm
• Heart defects
• Problems with your heart's valves
• Blocked or narrowed arteries in your heart
• A heart attack, in emergency situations
• A previous heart attack

During an ECG/EKG small electrodes are taped to your chest which read the electrical signals of your heart. The signals are shown as waves on an attached computer screen or printer. ECG's can be read immediately or studied (as they are extensive) and referred to throughout your treatment.

8 common diagnostic tests for the Heart #3

C-reactive protein test

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a normal protein that appears in high amounts in the blood when there is swelling somewhere in the body.

Often, doctors may check your CRP after surgery or after treatment for infections. It is thought that you would have a higher level of CRP if your coronary arteries were narrowed. This test cannot tell your doctor exactly where there is swelling only that swelling is present.

According to the American Heart Associate a CRP test would not be useful if are (once again) in the low or high risk for heart attack as it would not indicate a change in treatment either way. The CRP test can be helpful in aiding diagnosis in intermediate risk patients.

8 common  diagnostic tests for the Heart

·         Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) a

·         Heart scan (coronary calcium scan) a

·         C-reactive protein test

·         Stress test 

·         Nuclear stress test

·         Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

·         SPECT scan

·         Blood tests for heart disease

8 common diagnostic tests for the Heart #2

Yesterday we described the Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) as a non-invasive test that measures the electrical impulses of the heart.

There are a total of 8 tests that doctors normally prescribe to diagnose problems of the heart.

8 common  diagnostic tests for the Heart

·         Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) a

·         Heart scan (coronary calcium scan)

·         C-reactive protein test

·         Stress test 

·         Nuclear stress test

·         Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

·         SPECT scan

·         Blood tests for heart disease

Today we will continue our study with the Heart Scan.

The Heart Scan or Coronary Calcium scan provides pictures of the coronary arteries. Doctors use these heart scans to look for calcium deposits that can narrow your coronary arteries and increase your risk of heart disease.

Heart Scans are not for everyone, though. According to The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, if you and your doctor already know that you are either at a low or high risk for a heart attack, a Heart Scan is not going to tell you anything that you  do not already know. The Heart Scan is helpful, however, in diagnosing people that are in the intermediate range. The test will show if there is an unusual amount of Calcium deposits in the arteries, and where they would be.

Heart Scans are often used if you have vague symptoms and other test results have been inconclusive in determining heart disease.

Pregnant women should not have the Heart Scan since the X-ray technology utilizes EBTC (electron beam computerized tomography) which has the equivalent of 33 chest X-rays.

For more information:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-scan/MY00327

During a heart attack, tissue in your heart muscle dies due to lack of blood flow through your hearts arteries. This is how doctors are allowed to determine if you have had a heart attack in the past.
The severity and number of heart attacks will damage your heart irrepairably. As much as your heart can survive a heart attack, the damage tissue will remain.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM00938

(A). The plaques build over time (B) and eventually completely block your arteries and rupture (C), causing a heart attack. Damage tissue dies and your heart remains scarred(D).