These tests are proven to help measure your risk of having heart disease. Blood pressure. You should be tested at least once a year using a blood-pressure cuff. If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure or other related conditions , your health care provider will recommend that your blood pressure be checked more often.
Be sure to ask your health care provider how often you should have your blood pressure checked. You should have a blood test for cholesterol if you are a male and over 40, female and over 50 or post-menopausal, you have heart disease, stroke, diabetes or high blood pressure, your waist measures more than cm 40 in for men or 88 cm 35 in for women, you have a family history of heart disease or stroke. Your health care provider can advise how often you should have your cholesterol tested.
Blood sugar. Too much glucose can harm your blood vessels. If you have risk factors for diabetes or are pregnant, your blood sugar levels should be tested.
Speak to your health care provider about whether you need a blood sugar test. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance.
Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. The electrocardiogram, also referred to as ECG, lead ECG, or EKG, is a non-invasive diagnostic test that evaluates your heart's electrical system to assess for heart disease. It uses flat metal electrodes placed on your chest to detect the electrical activity of your heart as it beats, which is then graphed.
Your healthcare provider can analyze the patterns to get a better understanding of your heart rate and heart rhythm , identify some types of structural heart disease, and evaluate cardiac efficiency. An ECG detects your heart's electrical rhythm and produces what's known as a tracing, which looks like squiggly lines. This tracing consists of representations of several waves that recur with each heartbeat, about 60 to times per minute. The wave pattern should have a consistent shape.
If your waves are not consistent, or if they do not appear as standard waves, this is indicative of heart disease. There are a variety of characteristic changes that occur with different heart problems, and your healthcare provider can look at your ECG wave patterns to see if they are suggestive of certain types of heart disease.
Many healthcare providers order an ECG as part of a yearly medical examination to screen for heart disease. This may apply to you if:. Electrocardiography may also be recommended if you have signs or symptoms of heart disease, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting spells. Likewise, if you have signs of a TIA or stroke , such as vision changes, numbness, weakness, or communication problems, you are also likely to need an ECG because some types of heart disease can cause a stroke.
If you have heart disease, you may need periodic ECG testing to evaluate whether your disease is worsening and to monitor the treatment effects of your heart medications.
An ECG is also required prior to any type of heart surgery, including surgery for pacemaker placement. A pre-operative ECG is also needed before any surgical procedure that involves general anesthesia because heart disease increases the risk of adverse events from anesthesia.
The screening also helps your anesthesiologists as they plan your anesthetic medications and surgical monitoring. There are a number of conditions that can be detected when your healthcare provider checks your pulse, such as tachycardia rapid heart rate , bradycardia slow heart rate , and arrhythmia irregular heart rate. EKG wave patterns can verify these alterations in your heart rhythm, and certain changes in the shape of the waves provides information about the specific type of heart disease and which region in the heart is affected.
The ECG is one of the most commonly used tests in medicine because it can screen for a large variety of cardiac conditions, the machines are readily available in most medical facilities, the test is simple to perform, is safe, and relatively inexpensive. That said, an ECG has its limitations:.
ECG is a safe test that does not cause health complications. There are no medical conditions associated with any risks or adverse effects from an ECG. If your healthcare provider or cardiologist orders an ECG, you generally do not need to have any special tests or procedures to prepare for it. In fact, you can have it right in the healthcare provider's office if there is available time, space, and equipment.
Sometimes, depending on the reason for your ECG, your healthcare provider may ask you to stop taking some of your medications for a day or two before the test. If you are having an ECG as part of a healthcare provider's visit, anticipate needing an extra 10 to 15 minutes for the test. If you are going to have a special visit for the ECG, you should expect it to take longer because of the registration and check-in process. Often, an ECG is done in the healthcare provider's office, sometimes in the same exam room where you are seeing the healthcare provider.
Your healthcare provider's clinic may have a separate space where you may need to go to have your test. You will need to change into a hospital gown so that electrodes can be placed on your chest. You may be asked to remove large necklaces or chains if they dangle or get in the way, but you do not need to worry about electrical interference from metal jewelry. You can eat or drink whatever you want prior to your test.
If your healthcare provider is worried that you have an especially rapid heart rhythm, you may be asked to abstain from caffeine for six to 10 hours before the test. Generally, an ECG is covered by most health insurance plans, but there are always exceptions.
If you are insured and concerned that your plan may not cover the test, or if you have a plan with minimal coverage, you might want to check your benefits in advance. It can be used to investigate symptoms of a possible heart problem, such as chest pain , palpitations suddenly noticeable heartbeats , dizziness and shortness of breath. A series of ECGs can also be taken over time to monitor a person already diagnosed with a heart condition or taking medication known to potentially affect the heart.
There are several different ways an ECG can be carried out. Generally, the test involves attaching a number of small, sticky sensors called electrodes to your arms, legs and chest.
These are connected by wires to an ECG recording machine. You don't need to do anything special to prepare for the test. You can eat and drink as normal beforehand. Before the electrodes are attached, you'll usually need to remove your upper clothing, and your chest may need to be shaved or cleaned. Once the electrodes are in place, you may be offered a hospital gown to cover yourself.
The test itself usually only lasts a few minutes, and you should be able to go home soon afterwards or return to the ward if you're already staying in hospital.
The type of ECG you have will depend on your symptoms and the heart problem suspected.
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