Ways to detect heart disease

Heart disease is an umbrella term for a range of conditions that affect the heart. This includes irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias), coronary artery disease, angina, cardiomyopathies, and heart failure. Getting diagnosed with heart disease is not particularly straightforward, as heart disease may not be apparent to patients as soon as they contract it; symptoms may begin manifesting once the disease is quite far along. That is why detection is so important. In this article, a consultant interventional cardiologist lists all the ways that heart disease can be detected.

What are the risk factors of heart disease?

There are prior factors that may make a patient more susceptible to heart disease, and them in consideration can help the patient stay on top of their heart health. These include:

• Family history of heart disease; does the patient have a genetic predisposition for heart disease?
• Blood pressure levels; if it is high (hypertension) this can strain the heart and lead to failure or stroke
• High cholesterol; this creates blockage in blood flow, again putting strain on the heart
• Smoking, as it increases blood pressure and reduces oxygen supply in the blood.
• Obesity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Diabetes
• Age
• Stress

How can heart disease be detected?

Patients with heart disease may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, palpitations, loss of consciousness, heartburn, and swelling in the legs. These are common symptoms for other conditions, so a patient may not think that they are to be attributed to a heart condition. When experiencing these symptoms, however, it is important to get tested, as the earlier a disease is discovered, the sooner it can be treated, and the outlook is more positive.

Heart disease can be detected with tests and scans such as:

• Echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart and provides an image of the heart so that is can be assessed for its condition and function.
• Cardiac catheterisation, where a catheter is inserted into an artery and fed through to the heart to examine the vascular system.
• Coronary calcium scan which detects calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, an early sign of atherosclerosis or heart disease.
• Blood tests to analyse the level of oxygen, hormones, proteins, or other substances in the blood.
• Electrocardiogram, to monitor the electrical signals in the heart and how it’s functioning.
• X-ray, to check on the size of the heart and if there’s fluid in the lungs (which is a sign of heart failure)
• CT scan, which is like an X-ray but uses multiple beams to get a 3D image of the heart and its structure.
• MRI scan, which uses magnetic and radiofrequency waves to make a detailed image of the heart and arteries.
• Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) evaluates the interactions between the heart and the lungs.

Even simple examinations like a blood pressure measurement with a cuff or listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope can be sufficient to detect that something is wrong with the heart.

Cardiac screenings are the foremost way of detecting heart disease at its earliest stage – or even just catching the conditions that can eventually cumulate as heart disease – and it is highly recommended for patients with a family history of heart disease, or that are over 40 years old, to undergo them regularly.

If you suspect that you have a heart condition and would like to get tested, you can book a consultation with a specialist via Top Doctors.