Angina

To diagnose angina, a healthcare professional examines you and asks questions about your symptoms. You are usually asked about any risk factors, including whether you have a family history of heart disease.

Tests

Tests used to diagnose and confirm angina include:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity of the heart. Sticky patches called electrodes are placed on the chest and sometimes the arms and legs. Wires connect the electrodes to a computer, which displays the test results. An ECG can show if the heart is beating too fast or too slow. The test can show if you are having or have had a heart attack.
• Chest X-ray. A chest X-ray shows the condition of the heart and lungs. A chest X-ray may be done to determine if other conditions are causing chest pain symptoms and to see if the heart is enlarged.
• Blood tests. Certain heart proteins slowly leak into the blood after heart damage from a heart attack. Blood tests can be done to check for these proteins, called cardiac enzymes.
• Stress test. Sometimes angina is easier to diagnose when the heart is working harder. A stress test typically involves walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike while the heart is checked. Other tests may be done at the same time as a stress test. If you can’t exercise, you might get medicines that affect the heart like exercise does.
• Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to create images of the heart in motion. These images can show how blood flows through the heart. An echocardiogram may be done during a stress test.
• Nuclear stress test. A nuclear stress test helps measure blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and during stress. It is similar to a routine stress test, but during a nuclear stress test, a radioactive tracer is injected into the bloodstream. A special scanner shows how the tracer moves through the heart arteries. Areas that have small amounts or none of the tracer are likely to have poor blood flow.
• Cardiac computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These tests create images of the heart and chest. Cardiac CT scans use X-rays. Cardiac MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create images of the heart. For both tests, you usually lie on a table that slides inside a long tubelike machine. Each test can be used to diagnose heart problems. The tests can help show the severity of heart damage.
• Coronary angiogram. This test uses X-ray imaging to check the inside of the heart’s blood vessels. It’s part of a general group of procedures known as cardiac catheterization.

  A healthcare professional inserts a flexible tube called a catheter into a blood vessel, usually in the groin. It’s guided to the heart. Dye flows through the catheter. The dye makes the heart arteries show up more clearly on an X-ray. The X-ray is called an angiogram.