Gastroparesis

A healthcare provider will ask you about your symptoms and health history, including conditions and procedures that can cause gastroparesis. They’ll use imaging tests to look inside your stomach to make sure there’s nothing physically obstructing it, which might cause the same symptoms. If they don’t find an obstruction, they’ll follow up with gastric motility tests, which evaluate your stomach muscle activity.

What tests are used to diagnose gastroparesis?

Imagining tests to rule out a mechanical obstruction may include:

Upper endoscopy.
Capsule endoscopy.
Upper GI series.
CT scan.
MRI.
Abdominal ultrasound.

Gastric emptying studies to measure your gastric motility include:

Gastric emptying scintigraphy (GES). Gastric emptying scintigraphy is a type of nuclear medicine imagining test that follows the progress of a meal or beverage through your digestive system and records how long the journey takes. It does this by incorporating a small amount of radioactive material into a meal or beverage that you consume and scanning it periodically.
Gastric motility breath test (GEBT). A breath test can track the progress of a meal through your digestive system by measuring gases in your breath. For this test, you consume a special meal containing a carbon molecule (carbon-13) that produces a specific, measurable form of carbon dioxide (C02-13). This gas will be measurable in your breath after it reaches your intestines.
SmartPill™ wireless motility capsule. For the SmartPill test, you swallow a pill-sized wireless electronic device. The device sends data to a receiver that you wear on your body as it travels through your digestive system. After a day or two, the SmartPill will pass out of your body in your poop. You’ll return the receiver to your healthcare provider, who will read the data.

You may have additional tests to try to identify the cause of your gastroparesis. Your example, a blood test may discover antibodies from a prior infection or autoantibodies that indicate an autoimmune disease.

Symptoms

When to see a doctor

Request an appointment

Complications

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Blood clots can lead to stroke.

The risk of stroke from AFib increases as you grow older. Other health conditions also may increase the risk of a stroke due to AFib. These conditions include:

High blood pressure.
Diabetes.
Heart failure.
Some types of heart valve disease.

Blood thinners are commonly prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Prevention

Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart disease and may prevent atrial fibrillation (AFib). Here are some basic heart-healthy tips:

Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Don't smoke or use tobacco.
Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce and manage stress.

By Freedmans Health Clinic Staff

Living with atrial fibrillation?

Connect with others like you for support and answers to your questions in the Heart Rhythm Conditions support group on Freedmans Health Clinic Connect, a patient community.