- Electrocardiography or ECG: This measures the electrical activity of the heart. A Change in the ECG pattern can be indicative of heart disease. The doctor usually looks for two types of changes:
Those which indicate a block in the coronary arteries.
Those which indicate a problem with the rhythm of the heart beat, such as palpitations.
- Stress Test/Stress ECG: The stress ECG provides more information than a rest ECG since the oxygen demand on your heart is greater while exercising. A positive stress test indicates that there are changes on your ECG.
- Thallium Stress Test/Nuclear Medicine Stress Test: This stress test is similar to a regular stress test, but in this, a dye is injected into the heart and pictures are taken of the heart, before and after the stress test. This can detect areas of the heart muscle that have been damaged by a heart attack and areas that are not getting enough oxygen due to partial blockages of the coronary arteries. Nuclear medicine tests can provide information on the functioning of the left ventricle.
- Echocardiography or Echo: An Echo is a sonogram of the heart. This test provides information about the heart pumping function, about heart valve status, chambers and any heart dysfunction.
- Coronary Angiography: This test is done by injecting contrast (dye) in the arteries of the heart directly to know the exact location of the blockages and to plan for further treatment, whether a patient needs an angioplasty or a bypass surgery if any blockages are found.