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Diseases » Cardiovascular Disease » Tests

Diagnostic Tests for Cardiovascular Disease

Contents

Cardiovascular Disease Tests: Book Excerpts

Cardiovascular assessment - Introduction Cardiovascular Disorders

Home Diagnostic Testing

These home medical tests may be relevant to Cardiovascular Disease:

High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
Heart Health: Home Testing:

Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis: Book Excerpts

Tests and diagnosis discussion for Cardiovascular Disease:

Which medical tests will help me keep track of any heart or blood vessel problems?

Have your blood pressure checked every time you see your doctor. Ask your doctor what your blood pressure is and what it should be.
Your doctor may order an exercise stress test to see if you have any problems. The doctor will see how your heart performs during exercise.
Have your blood fats checked once each year. This checkup includes four tests:
- Blood cholesterol. Your number should be 200 or lower.
- LDL (bad cholesterol). Your number should be 100 or lower.
- HDL (good cholesterol). Your number should be 45 or higher.
- Triglycerides (try-GLISS-er-ides) (the form in which energy is stored in your fat cells). Your number should be 200 or lower.

If your numbers are not normal, ask your doctor if you should take medicine to make them normal. (Source: excerpt from Keep your heart and blood vessels healthy: NIDDK)

Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease: medical news summaries:

The following medical news items are relevant to diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease:

Diagnostic Tests for Cardiovascular Disease: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the diagnostic tests for Cardiovascular Disease.

Introduction: Cardiovascular Disorders: Cardiovascular assessment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Physical assessment provides vital information about cardiovascular status.

❑ Check for underlying cardiovascular disorders, such as central cyanosis (impaired gas exchange), edema (heart failure or valvular disease), and clubbing (congenital cardiovascular disease).

❑ Palpate the peripheral pulses bilaterally and evaluate their rate, equality, and quality on a scale of 0 (absent) to +4 (bounding). (See Pulse amplitude scale.)

❑ Inspect the carotid arteries for equal appearance. Auscultate for bruits; then palpate the arteries individually, one side at a time, for thrills (fine vibrations due to irregular blood flow).

❑ Check for pulsations in the jugular veins (more easily seen than felt). Watch for jugular vein distention — a possible sign of right-sided heart failure, valvular stenosis, cardiac tamponade, or pulmonary embolism. Take blood pressure readings in both arms while the patient is lying, sitting, and standing.

❑ Palpate the precordium for any abnormal pulsations, such as lifts, heaves, or thrills. Use the palms (at the base of the fingertips) or the fingertips. The normal apex will be felt as a light tap and extends over 1" (2.5 cm) or less.

❑ Systematically auscultate the anterior chest wall for each of the four heart sounds in the aortic area (second intercostal space at the right sternal border), pulmonic area (second intercostal space at the left sternal border), right ventricular area (lower half of the left sternal border), and mitral area (fifth intercostal space at the midclavicular line). However, don’t limit your auscultation to these four areas. Valvular sounds may be heard all over the precordium. Therefore, inch your stethoscope in a Z pattern, from the base of the heart across and down and then over to the apex, or start at the apex and work your way up. For low-pitched sounds, use the bell of the stethoscope; for high-pitched sounds, the diaphragm. Carefully inspect each area for pulsations, and palpate for thrills. Check the location of apical pulsation for deviations in normal size ( ⅜" to ¾" [1 to 2 cm]) and position (in the mitral area) — possible signs of left ventricular hypertrophy, left-sided valvular disease, or right ventricular disease.

❑ Listen for the vibrating sound of turbulent blood flow through a stenotic or incompetent valve. Time the murmur to determine where it occurs in the cardiac cycle — between S₁ and S₂ (systolic), between S₂ and the following S₁ (diastolic), or throughout systole (holosystolic). Finally, listen for the scratching or squeaking of a pericardial friction rub.

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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005