Many people do not recognize they have cardiovascular disease until they have chest pain, a heart attack, or stroke. These kinds of problems frequently require immediate attention and the person may need to go to the emergency department of a hospital.
If it's not an emergency and a doctor suspects the person could have cardiovascular disease, the doctor can do various tests to find out more about how the heart and blood vessels are working.
These tests include:
- Electrocardiogram: This test traces the heart's electrical activity. A doctor puts the patient on a monitor and watches the machine to see the heart beat and decide if it's normal.
- Echocardiogram: This test employs sound waves to diagnose heart problems. These waves are bounced off the parts of the heart, creating a picture of the heart that is exhibited on a monitor.
- Stress test: For this test, the person exercises while the doctor checks the electrocardiogram machine to see how the heart muscle responds.
- Catheterization: In this test a long, thin tube is inserted into the patient's body to inject a special dye, which can confirm narrowed areas in arteries due to plaque buildup and find other problems.
- Carotid artery scan: This test uses sound waves to verify for blockages in the carotid artery, a large blood vessel in the neck that supplies blood to the brain.
If a patient has cardiovascular disease, the doctor will discuss about how stopping smoking, losing weight, eating a healthy diet, and getting exercise can help. The person also may require taking medicine, having surgery, or both.
There are various surgeries for the heart and blood vessels. These include:
- Angioplasty: This releases a blocked vessel by using a balloon-like device at an artery's narrowest point. The doctor may also insert a stent, which is a tiny, stainless steel tube that maintains the vessel open and creates sure it stays clear.
- Atherectomy: This engages cutting the plaque out of an artery, so blood can flow freely.
- Bypass surgery: This involves taking part of an artery or vein from another part of the body (like the arm or leg) and using it to channel blood about a blocked area in an artery.
- Pacemakers: A pacemaker is a small electronic device that's put inside the body to control the heartbeat.
- Valve replacement: If a heart valve is damaged or isn't working, a surgeon can change it.
- Carotid endarterectomy: During this process, a surgeon removes plaque deposits from the carotid artery to prevent a stroke.
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