| A | B |
|---|
| Electrocardiogram (ECG) | This test records the electrical activity of the heart, shows abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias), and can sometimes detect heart muscle damage. |
| Stress Test | Also called a treadmill or exercise ECG, this done monitors the heart, breathing and blood pressure while the patient walks on a treadmill or pedals a stationary bike. |
| Transthoracic echocardiogram (echo or TTE) | Noninvasive test that used sound waves to evaluate the patient's heart chambers and valves, and how well it pumps. The echo sound waves create a real time image on the monitor as an US probe is passed across the skin over the heart. |
| Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) | This test is similar to a transthoracic echocardiogram but with medicine to the patient relax (sedation). It is more invasive because a probe is inserted in the body. The patient swallows a small probe which passes down the esophagus and lies directly behind the heart. |
| Positron emission tomography (PET) scan | This test is a nuclear scan that gives information about the flow of blood through the coronary arteries to the heart muscle. |
| Thallium scans // Myocardial perfusion scans | Similar to PET scans, these tests involve an IV injection of radioactive tracers and a special camera. There are several different types of these scans, each one designed to monitor different issues. |
| Holter monitor | A small, portable battery-powered ECG machine used to record heartbeats over a period of 24 to 48 hours during normal activities. |
| Event recorder | A small, portable batter-powered machine used to record ECG over several weeks. Each time the patient has symptoms, the patient presses a button on the recorder to record the ECG sample. |
| Implantable loop recorder | This device is about the size of a AAA battery. Th doctor puts the device under the skin over the heart. The device monitors and records heartbeats for up to 3 years. |
| Tilt table test | This test is used to determine if the patient is likely to have sudden drops in blood pressure (orthostatic hypotension) while standing, or slow pulse rates with positon changes. This test is sometimes needed if the patient is often having fainting spells. |
| Electrophysiology test | This test is used to test the heart's electrical system in order to see what might be causing abnormal heart rhythms. Insulated electric cathers are placed through the large vein in the upper leg and threaded into the heart. |
| Cardiac catherization (coronary angiogram) | For this test, the doctor guides a small catheter (hollow tube) through the large artery in the upper leg, or sometimes the wrist or arm, into the heart. Dye is given through the catheter, and moving X-ray pictures are made as the dye travels through the heart arteries and heart chambers. This comprehensive test shows: narrowing in the arteries, heart chamber size, how well the heart pumps, and how well the valves open and close, as well as a measurement of the pressures within the heart chambers and arteries and veins. |
| Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart | This procedure uses a combination of large magnets, radiofrequencies, and a computer to make detailed images of organs and structures in the body. This test is used to look at the heart valves and major vessels, dectect coronary artery disease and how much damage is has caused, assess heart problems that have been present since birth, and can find tumors and other problems. This test may be ordered before other procesures such as angioplasty or stenting of the coronary arteries and heart or vascular surgery. |
| Magnetic resonsance angiography (MRA) of the heart | Special type of MRI procedure use to evaluate blood vessels in the heart. Utilizes a contrast dye which helps to highlight blood flow. |
| Cardiac Computerized Tomography (CT) scan | This imaging procedure uses an X-ray machine and a computer to create 3-D pictures of the heart. Sometimes a dye is injected into a vein so that heart arteries can be seen as well. It can also be used to find out how much calcium is in the heart arteries. Calcium is a marker for coronary artery disease. |
| Stent | A tube designed to be inserted into a vessel or passageway to keep it open. Stents are inserted into narrowed coronary arteries to help keep them open after balloon angioplasty. The stent then allows the normal flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. |
| Orthostatic Hypotension | An excessive fall in blood pressure (BP) when an upright position is assumed. |
| Systolic Blood Pressure | The first number in a blood pressure (BP) reading. It measures the pressure in blood vessels when the heart beats. |
| Diastolic Blood Pressure | The second number in a blood pressure (BP) reading. It measures the pressure in blood vessels when the heart rests between beats. |
| Balloon Angioplasty | Surgical widening of a blocked or narrowed blood vessel, especially a coronary artery, by means of a balloon catheter. |
| Heart Failure (Congestive Heart Failure) | Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. In some cases, the heart can't fill with enough blood. In other cases, the heart can't pump blood to the rest of the body with enough force. Some people have both problems. |
| Right-Sided Heart Failure | Right-sided heart failure occurs if the heart can't pump enough blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. |
| Left-Sided Heart Failure | Left-sided heart failure occurs if the heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. |
| BNP Test | A test utilizing a blood sample that is used to help diagnose heart failure. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone released from the ventricles that occurs with heart failure. The higher the BNP levels, the worse the heart failure. |
| Angiotension converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors | Medicines that lower the pressure inside the blood vessels. This reduces the pressure that the heart has to pump against. They can also help the heart have better pumping ability over time. |
| Diuretics | Medicines that reduce the amount of fluid in the body. |
| Vasodilators | Medicines that widen (dilate) the blood vessels and reduce the workload on the heart. |
| Digitalis | Medicine that helps the heart beat stronger and may help with controlling heart rate if there is an abnormal heart rhythm. |
| Antiarrhythmics | Medicines that help keep normal heart rhythm. |
| Beta-blockers | Medicines that reduce the heart's tendency to beat faster and can also help the heart pump better over time. |
| Statins (or PCKS9 inhibitors) | Medicines that lower the amount of "bad cholesterol" in the blood. While they are not used to treat heart failure, they may be prescribed if a patient has had a past heart attack and is at risk for heart failure. |
| Pacemaker | An artificial device for stimulating the heart muscle and regulating its contractions. |
| Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) | A device inserted in the chest which connects to an outside motor. The motor helps pump blood from the heart to the rest of the body, allowing people with advanced heart failure to improve their overall symptoms and to walk more. VADs can be used as a long-term treatment or while someone waits for a donor heart for a transplant. |
| ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) | Device implanted in the body to sense and treat dangerous cardic rhythms by either overdriving pacing the heart rhythm or sending an energy shcok to the heart. |
| Debrillator | An apparatus used to control heart fibrillation by application of an electric current to the chest wall or heart. |
| Arteries | Arteries are blood vessels responsible for carrying oxygen-rich blood AWAY from the heart to the body. |
| Veins | Veins are blood vessels that carry blood low in oxygen from the body back to the heart for reoxygenation. |
| Stenosed Heart Valves | Heart valves that are narrowed. |
| Regurgitant Heart Valves | Heart valves that leak. |
