Patient Info

An ambulatory ECG, often called a Holter monitor, records the heart’s rhythm while you go about your day. You wear a small recorder, usually for 24 hours, so skipped beats or fast rhythms that a short office ECG might miss can be captured.

An exercise test shows how the heart responds when the body is working. You walk on a treadmill or pedal a bike while your heart rhythm and blood pressure are watched. If you cannot exercise, a medicine may be used to raise the heart rate instead. The test looks for reduced blood flow, rhythm changes, and how much activity you can manage.

A chest X-ray is a quick picture of the heart and lungs. It can show whether the heart is enlarged or whether there is fluid in the lungs. It is often a first step, and a more detailed test may follow.

24-hour monitoring records the heartbeat continuously for a full day and night. Patches on the chest connect to a small recorder you wear home. It is used to look for rhythm problems that come and go, during sleep, rest, and activity.

A cardiac MRI uses magnets and radio waves, not X-rays, to take detailed pictures of the heart muscle, chambers, and valves. It can show scarring, inflammation, and how well the heart pumps. You lie still inside the scanner while the pictures are taken.

Nuclear imaging uses a small amount of tracer in the bloodstream and a special camera to show blood flow to the heart muscle. Pictures are taken at rest and after exercise, or after medicine that mimics exercise, to look for areas that are not getting enough blood.

Cardiac catheterization uses a thin, flexible tube placed into a blood vessel in the wrist or groin and guided to the heart. Dye and X-rays can show the coronary arteries and the valves. Treatment, such as opening a narrowed artery, can sometimes be done during the same visit.

A carotid Doppler uses sound waves to look at the arteries on each side of the neck that carry blood to the brain. Gel is placed on the skin and a probe is moved along the neck. It shows whether an artery is narrowed or blocked and how the blood is flowing. Narrowing there can raise the risk of stroke. The test is painless and does not use radiation.

A venous reflux ultrasound looks at the veins in the legs and the valves that keep blood moving toward the heart. You usually stand while a probe is moved over the leg. It shows whether blood is flowing backward, which can lead to aching, swelling, or varicose veins. The test is painless.

A venous Doppler uses sound waves to look at blood flow in the veins, most often in the legs. Gel is placed on the skin and a probe is moved along the vein. It is used to look for a clot, a blocked vein, or blood moving the wrong way. The test is painless and does not use radiation.