Heart attack diagnosis is on the basis on your symptoms, personal / family medical history, and the diagnosis test results.
Heart disease diagnosis
Diagnoses of heart diseases are by different tests they are.
- Electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Echocardiogram
- Chest X-ray (CXR)
- Urinalysis (UA)
- Pulse oximetry (Blood oxygen)
- Blood test for protein
- Coronary Angiography
Electrocardiogram (EKG) - During EKG, 3-10 electrical leads attaches to your chest, arms and legs. EKG records the electrical activities of the heart. Certain electrical wave changes on an EKG are the strong evidence of a heart attack. An EKG can also indicate if you are having abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias), mostly caused by heart attack and other similar conditions.
Echocardiogram - Other wise called as 2D echo, Cardiac echo, TTE, or TEE. Ultrasound waves are useful to take the picture of your heart and the circulating blood. The ultrasound probe may be located on your chest (trans-thoracic echocardiogram, TTE) or deep in your throat (trans-esophageal echocardiogram, TEE).
Chest X-ray (CXR) - An x-ray of the heart and lungs is a standard test for patients with acute problems. Chest x ray can be helpful to diagnose important problems such as pneumonia or heart failure.
Urinalysis (UA) - Urinalysis is a simple urine test to screen for bladder infection or kidney problems. If you suspect infection, you may require a urine culture test.
Pulse oximetry (Blood oxygen) - Pulse oximetry is useful to measure oxygen receives by the blood from the lung. A small probe with a red light attaches to one finger to measure blood oxygen.
Blood test for protein - Heart attack develops when heart muscle cells die and burst, releasing certain proteins in the blood stream. Blood test is useful to measure proteins in the bloodstream, if it is higher than the normal; it is an evidence of a heart attack.
Commonly used Heart attack diagnosis blood tests are troponin tests, CK or CK–MB tests and serum myoglobin tests. You many need to repeat the blood tests to note for changes over time.
Coronary Angiography - Coronary angiography is a special x-ray to examine the heart and blood vessels. This test is requiring during a heart attack to help locate the blockages in the coronary arteries.
During coronary angiography, your doctor inserts a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) from an artery in your arm or upper thigh and slowly treads it to your heart called cardiac catheterization. Then injects a special dye (that can be visible on X-ray) into the blood stream through this catheter.
If there is any blockage, it can precisely be located using coronary angiography. Once located the blockage then treat it by restoring the blood flow using angioplasty.