Electrocardiograms (ECG) – 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.
TMT – A stress test can determine if you have heart disease. A doctor or trained technician performs the test. He’ll learn how much your heart can manage before an abnormal rhythm starts or blood flow to your heart muscle drops.
There are different types of these. The exercise stress test — also known as an exercise electrocardiogram, treadmill test, graded exercise test, or stress ECG– is used most often. It lets your doctor know how your heart responds to being pushed. You’ll walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike. It’ll get more difficult as you go. Your electrocardiogram, heart rate, and blood pressure will be tracked throughout.
Echocardiography – An echocardiogram (echo=sound + card=heart + gram=drawing) is an ultrasound test that can evaluate the structures of the heart, as well as the direction of blood flow within it. Cardiologists specially trained in echocardiography produce the images and videos, often using a special probe or transducer that is placed in various places on the chest wall, to view the heart from different directions and evaluate these images to assess heart function and provide a report of the results. The echocardiogram is just one of the many tests that can be done to evaluate heart anatomy and function.
A Holter monitor is a battery-operated portable device that measures and records your heart’s activity (ECG) continuously for 24 to 48 hours or longer depending on the type of monitoring used. The device is the size of a small camera. It has wires with silver dollar-sized electrodes that attach to your skin. The Holter monitor and other devices that record your ECG as you go about your daily activities are called ambulatory electrocardiograms.
