Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. It's somewhat disconcerting to learn that you can feel completely normal and still have heart disease. That's why it's important to practice preventative heart health. One way to be more aware of the health of your heart is to run certain "heart healthy tests” that can determine your risk of heart disease as well as pick up the presence of heart disease at its earliest stages. Here are some screening heart tests you need to know about:
Electrocardiogram
While an electrocardiogram is a good screen for some forms of heart disease it may not be effective in picking up silent coronary artery disease since the heart is in a resting state when the study is performed. A better way to pick up latent coronary artery disease is to perform a stress electrocardiogram which measures blood to the heart when your heart is under stress as with exercise. Changes may show up on a stress electrocardiogram when a resting one appears completely normal.
Lipid Panel
A full lipid panel which measures your levels of certain circulating lipids in your bloodstream is a good screen for coronary risk. This test looks at levels of both good and bad cholesterols (HDL and LDL) as well as total cholesterol and triglycerides. If your results are found to be outside the normal range, reducing these parameters through diet, lifestyle changes, and medication, may significantly reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
Blood Pressure Screening
You should have your blood pressure checked every six months to screen for hypertension which is a significant risk factor for heart disease. Fortunately, controlling hypertension through lifestyle changes and medications can help to reduce your risk of heart disease.
Homocysteine Levels
Homocysteine is an amino acid carried in the blood stream. Elevated levels have been correlated with an increased risk of developing heart disease. It"s thought this amino acid exerts its effects by damaging the wall of the coronary arteries which may elevate the risk of clot formation. There's some evidence that deficiency of folic acid and the B vitamins can elevate homocysteine levels in the blood.
C Reactive Protein
This is a protein that can be measured with a simple blood test performed in your doctor's office. C reactive protein appears to be a marker indicating an increased risk of heart disease. This protein is thought to be elevated when there's an inflammatory process going on in the body including inflammation of the coronary arteries. If your levels are elevated, your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes and, potentially, medications to lower levels of this protein.
Lipoprotein A
This is another protein that may indicate an increased risk of developing heart disease. It's very similar to LDL (the bad cholesterol), but is affected more by genetics than it is diet. If you're at high risk of heart disease due to family history, you might ask your doctor to test for levels of this particular blood component.
These healthy heart tests represent a good group of screening tests for determining heart health and risk of developing future heart disease. You may want to talk to your doctor about whether you're a candidate for these studies.
