Types of Heart Tests

An MRA is a test that lets your doctor see inside your blood vessels -- your arteries and veins. MRA stands for Magnetic Resonance Angiogram or MR Angiography. Your doctor may ask you to get one in order to look for and treat problems with your blood vessels.

Cardiac catheterization (also called cardiac cath or coronary angiogram) is an invasive imaging procedure that allows your doctor to "see" how well your heart is supplied by blood vessels. During the test, a long, narrow tube, called a catheter, is inserted into a blood vessel in your arm or leg and guided to your heart with the aid of a special X-ray machine.

Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure used to diagnose and treat certain heart conditions. A long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin (upper thigh), or neck and threaded to your heart.

What is Cardiac MRI? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that physicians use to diagnose medical conditions. MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and virtually all other internal body structures.

An X-ray is an imaging test that uses small amounts of radiation to produce pictures of the organs, tissues, and bones of the body. When focused on the chest, it can help spot abnormalities or diseases of the airways, blood vessels, bones, and heart.

Where Should You Have a Cholesterol Test? The American Heart Association recommends you have the test at your doctor's office. The test might also be done at a hospital or at a lab. If you see your doctor for the test, you’ll know: The test is done by a qualified person. The results are accurate. The follow-up care is personalized to your needs.

Computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, combines multiple X-ray images with the aid of a computer to produce cross-sectional views of the body. Cardiac CT is a heart-imaging test that uses CT technology with or without intravenous (IV) contrast (dye) to visualize the heart anatomy, coronary circulation, and great vessels (which includes the aorta, pulmonary veins, and arteries).

A heart, or cardiac, CT scan is used to view your heart and blood vessels. During the test, a specialized dye is injected into your bloodstream. The dye is then viewed under a special camera in a hospital or testing facility. A heart CT scan may also be called a coronary CT angiogram if it’s meant to view the arteries that bring blood to your heart.

An echocardiogram (echo) is a test that uses high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to make pictures of your heart. The test is also called echocardiography or diagnostic cardiac ultrasound. Quick facts. An echo uses sound waves to create pictures of your heart’s chambers, valves, walls and the blood vessels (aorta, arteries, veins) attached to your heart. A probe called a transducer is passed over your chest.

A stress echocardiography, also called an echocardiography stress test or stress echo, is a procedure that determines how well your heart and blood vessels are working. During a stress echocardiography, you’ll exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike while your doctor monitors your blood pressure and heart rhythm.

Your doctor will keep your EKG patterns on file so that he can compare them to tests you get in the future. Types of EKG Tests. Besides the standard EKG, your doctor may recommend other kinds: Holter monitor. It's a portable EKG that checks the electrical activity of your heart for 1 to 2 days, 24-hours a day.

Your doctor may suggest you get an electrocardiogram -- also called an EKG or ECG -- to check for signs of heart disease. It's a test that records the electrical activity of your ticker through small electrode patches that a technician attaches to the skin of your chest, arms, and legs.

Your doctor will keep your EKG patterns on file so that he can compare them to tests you get in the future. Types of EKG Tests. Besides the standard EKG, your doctor may recommend other kinds: Holter monitor. It's a portable EKG that checks the electrical activity of your heart for 1 to 2 days, 24-hours a day.

Twenty-four hour Holter monitoring is a continuous test to record your heart’s rate and rhythm for 24 hours. You wear the Holter monitor for 12 to 48 hours as you go about your normal daily routine. This device has electrodes and electrical leads exactly like a regular EKG, but it has fewer leads.

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan of the heart is an imaging test that uses specialized dye to allow your doctor to view problems with your heart. The dye contains radioactive tracers, which concentrate on areas of the heart that may be injured or diseased.

Ask your doctor if you have any questions about the exercise stress test. What Are the Other Types of Stress Tests? Dobutamine or adenosine stress test: This is for people unable to exercise. You’ll take a drug to make the heart respond as if you were exercising.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a test that produces pictures of your heart. TEE uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to make detailed pictures of your heart and the arteries that lead to and from it.

What is a heart ultrasound (transthoracic echocardiogram;TTE; echocardiogram; echo)? A heart ultrasound is a useful tool to evaluate the structure and function of the heart and associated vessels. It is a fast, easy and painless evaluation that uses ultrasound waves to produce images of the heart.