The term "heart disease" refers to a wide variety of diseases involving the heart, including arrhythmias, congenital heart defects and heart infections. However, most people associate heart disease with coronary artery disease or cardiovascular disease, which also falls under the category of heart disease. To find out whether you have heart disease, or more specifically cardiovascular disease, take stock of any symptoms you might have and pursue specific testing from your healthcare provider.
Symptoms
Step 1
Notice any chest pain that can indicate a heart attack or angina. A tightening or squeezing sensation in your chest is a typical symptom. If the chest pain worsens when you lie down but doesn't worsen while exercising, you may have pericarditis, a condition involving inflammation of the sac that surrounds your heart.
Step 2
Detect any leg pain to pinpoint peripheral vascular disease, which is often part of heart disease. Note any unexplained pain in your legs, along with leg cramps or fatigue during exercise. Other signs of heart disease can include pain, weakness, coldness or numbness in your arms or legs, due to narrowed or clogged blood vessels in your extremities.
Step 3
Notice any shortness of breath, especially while you're lying down. When your heart is diseased or impaired, fluid can back up into your lungs, which can cause shortness of breath. This is also a common symptom of lung disorders, not just a sign of heart disease.
Step 4
Detect any feelings of fatigue, lightheadedness or dizziness. If your heart isn't providing sufficient blood flow to your muscles and brain, you'll likely experience fatigue or a feeling of being lightheaded that can even lead to fainting.
Step 5
Notice any heart palpitations. Heart palpitations typically occur when your heart beats at an abnormal rhythm or rate, causing a fluttering feeling in your chest, or a rapid or slow heartbeat. Sometimes, heart palpitations can occur due to simply consuming too much caffeine or from anxiety, but can indicate a heart problem when combined with other symptoms.
Tests
Step 1
Undergo a physical exam. Your doctor may detect certain problems, such as high or low blood pressure, an enlarged heart, eye abnormalities in your retinas, abnormal heart sounds, fluid in your lungs, or weak pulses in your extremities. Your doctor may also look for other signs of heart disease, like cold hands or feet, abnormal sounds of blood flow through your arteries or a pulsating mass in your abdomen indicating an aortic aneurysm.
Step 2
Undergo a cardiac stress test or exercise tolerance test. A cardiac stress test typically involves walking on a treadmill or pedaling on an exercise bike while your doctor monitors your heart's electrical activity and your blood pressure. Stress tests are typically used in conjunction with blood testing for cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels and blood-cell counts.
Step 3
Have your doctor perform cardiac isoenzyme testing. These are serial blood tests that can detect whether there's any damage to your heart. Along with the blood tests, your physician may also perform an electrocardiography -- EKG or ECG -- test which measures the electrical currents to your heart.
Step 4
Ask your doctor for an angiography, a special X-ray that uses a catheter-injected dye to make your arteries more visible. This test may detect abnormalities in your arteries, including plaque buildup and narrowing or widening of the blood vessels. A venography is a similar test that examines your veins.
Step 5
Undergo a cardiac catheterization. This test allows your doctor to study the chambers in your heart and your main blood vessels to detect damage or irregularities.
Step 6
Undergo various ultrasound tests of your heart and blood vessels, such as echocardiography, doppler ultrasound and duplex venous ultrasound. These are all noninvasive tests that visualize the blood flow and structures of your heart, veins and arteries.
Tips and Warnings
- Less common tests to diagnose heart disease or related health conditions include an electrophysiology study, CT scan, PET scan, MRI, myocardial perfusion imaging and single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT. Consider your risk factors for heart disease. The most crucial risk factors for heart disease include a family history of cardiovascular conditions, age, being male, being a post-menopausal woman, smoking cigarettes, obesity, high stress levels, physical inactivity and poor hygiene. High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes are also risk factors for heart disease.
- Don't try to self-diagnose or self-treat heart disease. Heart disease can encompass many different chronic conditions, so work with your physician to properly diagnose and treat the disease. Heart disease is often fatal, and can also lead to other health problems. Follow your doctor's advice and take all prescribed medications to help prevent or treat heart disease.
