Heart disease health centre
Diagnosis & tests
When do you go from having risk factors to having heart disease? Find out about the tests a doctor uses to diagnose heart disease.
Diagnosis
The first step is getting examined. Here's a look at what tests your GP may do.
Tests
Learn the basics about an ECG test for your heart.
Does your heart respond well to exertion? That's what a stress test looks for. Learn more about the test and how to prepare for it.
Cardiac catheterisation -- also called a coronary angiogram -- means running a catheter into your heart. Find out how it helps doctors see what's going on in there, and decide whether they need to operate.
Computed tomography (CT scan) of the heart can visualise your heart’s anatomy. Calcium-score heart scan and coronary CT angiography are just a few of the types of scan used to diagnose heart disease.
A heart MRI is a great way for doctors to get a look -- from the outside -- at how your heart is working. Read about it here.
Pericardiocentesis -- also called a pericardial tap -- means using a needle to get a sample of the fluid in the sac surrounding the heart. Learn more about this procedure.
Learn more about the BNP blood test for heart failure.
Blood vessels can be examined by using a special medical test known as angiography, and the X-ray images that it takes are known as angiograms.