Emergency Room – Diagnose Heart Health

Transcript

Only so much can be done in the ER to diagnose heart health. Cardiologists have an array of tests designed to see the potential of having a diseased heart. They may have you run on a treadmill or receive an IV medicine that puts stress on your heart. This is what’s called a stress test. It’s done in a controlled setting to keep you safe. If there is something abnormal about the stress test, the cardiologist may recommend a more invasive test called coronary angiography, also called catheterization. This usually requires sedation and an artery catheter that squirts dye into the blood vessels in the heart. We frequently recommend stress tests first to prevent unnecessary catheterizations. Stress tests can be done as part of a hospital stay, but can also be done as an outpatient ordered by your doctor.