Non Invasive Tests
Overview
Cardiology or the branch of medicine dealing with the study of heart related ailments invariably evokes fear in the mind of every person required to visit a cardiologist. But a visit to your cardiologist need not be a fear invoking event, as there are a multitude of non-invasive heart tests that your cardiologist can carry out. Non-Invasive cardiology procedures refers to the set of procedures, your doctor carries out in order to find out the general health of your heart. The speciality of these tests is that these are carried out without inserting any kind of injections, surgical material, fluids or any other medical stuff. The non-invasive heart tests are performed by studying the shape, size, electrical pulses, images and performance of the heart and comparing it to the expected behaviour.Need Help With Anything?
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Some important Non-Invasive Cardiology Procedures are listed below for a general understanding.
- 1.X-Rays – This specific Non-Invasive Cardiac heart test involves capturing images of the Heart using X-Rays. This is especially beneficial in identifying heart ailments related to the lungs. This is done by checking whether there is any fluid deposit happening in the lungs due to any problem in the heart.
- 2.Stress Tests – These tests are conducted to check the functioning of the heart during physical stress and whether the patient is getting abnormally tired during the test. This helps in early identification of any heart related problems and whether the same can be improved by lifestyle related changes.
- 3. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) – One of the most popular non-invasive cardiology procedure, this method essentially checks the electrical pulses or heart beats. Non-invasive cardiology is carried out by connecting monitoring device to the skin of your chest and other pulse points and then monitoring the signals. The ECG is generally the first test advised by any cardiologist.
- 4.Echocardiogram – While the ECG monitors the heartbeats by using electrical pulses, the echocardiogram (popularly called echo) utilizes high frequency sound waves to monitor the structure as well as functioning of the heart. This is also a common non-invasive heart test.
- 5.Heart Monitors / Holter Monitors – These monitors are more like tape recorders used to record the activity of the heart over a certain period of time. This is then checked by the doctor to identify any problems.
- 6.Cardiac Computed Tomography (CAT Scan) – The 3D imaging using computer-aided techniques encompasses a group of several non-invasive heart tests identifying blockages.