Your doctor can usually tell if it is angina from what you say your pain
feels like, where it is, and what brings it on. Your blood pressure will be
checked, and then more tests may be done to see if there are other heart
problems. The tests could include:
An electrocardiogram (ECG)
This is a record of the electrical activity of the heart. It is often normal
in patients with angina, but may show evidence of a heart attack in the past.
The ECG usually becomes abnormal if angina occurs. For this reason an
exercise ECG test is often carried out on a stationary bicycle or treadmill.
A thallium scan
This is useful for some patients. A small amount of radioactive material
is injected into the blood. A gamma camera may show up which parts of the
heart muscle are short of blood.
A blood cholesterol test
The amount of cholesterol and other fatty substances in the blood can
be checked from a blood sample.
Coronary angiograph
This is undertaken by a cardiologist (heart specialist) in hospital.
Under local anaesthetic, a fine tube (catheter) is introduced into an artery in
the forearm or groin and passed along the body’s arteries to the coronary
film. This will show where, and how much, they are narrowed. It is an
arteries. A dye is injected to help to give a picture of the arteries on an X-ray
essential test if angioplasty or coronary artery surgery are being considered.