| Ask your doctor whether these tests may be right for you: |
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EKG: This test measures whether heart rhythm or conduction is abnormal. The problem with this test is that only 1.1% of women between the ages of 45 and 65 have abnormal EKGs. The test usually needs to be taken when the patient is experiencing pain that could be considered a heart attack. |
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Exercise stress test: This test monitors your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, electrocardiogram and how tired you are during exercise. It determines whether there is a sufficient blood supply in your arteries that supply blood to the heart. Patients are hooked up to exercise equipment. |
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Echocardiogram: This is an ultrasound test taken during exercise to see how the heart is pumping. |
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Thallium stress test: Doctors inject a patient with a radioactive material in the blood to see whether the material flows correctly to the heart. |
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Coronary angiography: Dye is shot into the vessels to see whether the vessels are narrowing or whether there is a build up of plaque. |
