A number of tests will be carried out by the doctor to diagnose coronary heart disease. These may include an electrocardiogram test (ECG), which records the electrical voltage in the heart in the form of a continuous strip graph. This may be used to:
- Determine whether the heart is performing normally or suffering from abnormalities such as extra or skipped heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmia).
- Discover damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or ischaemia of heart muscle (angina).
- Detect heart blocks and in bundle branch blocks.
Doctors will often perform an angiogram to see if the coronary arteries are becoming narrow or to assess the extent of any blockage. A catheter is inserted into an artery in the groin, upper leg, upper arm or under arm area, and threaded through to the coronary arteries. This will be done under local anaesthetic. A coloured dye is then run through the arteries and an x-ray is taken which will show up any plaques (fatty deposits) that have built up, causing the arteries to become narrower or blocking the blood supply.
A chest x-ray will usually be performed to detect any other abnormality in the chest. Blood tests will also be carried out to discover the extent of the damage and to measure cholesterol levels.
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