People who end up in the hospital suspecting a heart attack will most often be admitted to the acute cardiac care unit. Here, doctors will perform a series of tests to help diagnose the condition. Depending on your specific condition, one test may lead to another, until the doctor is able to identify the cause of your heart attack and come up with a treatment plan suitable for your case.
1. EKG
These electrodes, which stick to your body after the nurse or technician smears a special gel on your skin, are attached to a small device via wires. What this device does is to measure the electrical impulses of your heart, which are printed on a sheet of paper.
The test doesn’t take more than a few minutes, during which you have to lie on the doctor’s table, perfectly still (this is important because being agitated or moving around causes your heart to beat faster, which could alter the results of the test).
Once the test is finished, a cardiologist will interpret the results. They will look for certain “abnormalities” on your EKG chart, which can further help them determine if you’ve had a heart attack, and your heart beats abnormally. Sometimes, the EKG is enough to diagnose a heart attack, but other times, further tests may be required.
2. Echocardiogram
Then, they will use a transducer (think of it as a wired remote control) that is pressed against your skin with slow movements. This transducer is connected to a computer via a cable. The monitor will show images of your heart, much like a baby sonogram. With this test, doctors can see if there are any abnormalities in your heart, particularly looking for damaged areas that can suggest the heart isn’t pumping blood as it normally should.
3. Blood tests
By performing a series of blood tests, doctors can determine the presence of cardiac markers (which is how these proteins are referred to). Blood tests typically follow cardiac troponin, which is a protein that needs to be measured over a period of several days.
These proteins can help doctors determine if you’ve suffered a heart attack or have an unstable angina episode. Blood tests can also be used to determine how you’re responding to treatment.
4. Coronary catheterization
Coronary catheterization, also known as an angiogram, is an invasive test that requires doctors to inject a colored dye in your coronary arteries. A tube called a catheter is inserted in your leg or groin, making its way to your coronary artery. Then, a special dye is injected, which travels through the arteries to make them more visible on an X-ray machine. This can help doctors determine if there is a blockage in your coronary arteries.
5. Chest X-ray
Doctors might turn to a chest X-ray if they suspect your symptoms might be of another underlying condition, and not a heart attack. For example, people who have a pneumothorax (air trapped between the lung layers), might show signs similar to a heart attack. Chest X-rays can also help determine how much damage a heart attack may have caused. For instance, a heart attack can lead to pulmonary edema, which is fluid build-up inside the lungs.
6. Stress tests
When you’ve suffered a heart attack, doctors need to know how your heart currently perform when resting, as well as when performing activities that require extra oxygen, such as working out. A stress test requires that you perform an EKG while doing some sort of physical activity.
7. Cardiac CT/MRI
A cardiac MRI combines the power of radio waves and magnetic fields to generate digital images of the heart. A cardiac CT test is much like several X-ray tests taken from different angles. While both of these tests are performed by having you lie still on a table and inserting you in a tube, their modus operandi is different.
During the cardiac CT scan, you will slide into a machine that features an X-ray rotating around your body. This “takes pictures” of your chest that doctors can further analyze. During a cardiac MRI, a magnetic field will align your cells’ atomic particles. Radio waves will then bounce off these particles, sending different signals to a machine that recreates images of your heart.
Conclusion
EKGs and echocardiograms are the most common tests performed in the initial phase of diagnosing a heart attack. If the results aren’t clear, doctors will then turn to other tests to study the problem in depth.
These tests aren’t just important in diagnosing a heart attack, but they can reveal exactly the blockage site inside the coronary arteries, show how much damage your heart muscles have suffered, and are also good in determining if people who have suffered a heart attack in the past and are currently receiving treatment are actually responding to said treatment.
Sources & Links
- Photo courtesy of SteadyHealth