Heart Attack Tests & Treatments at University of Colorado Hospital
Heart Attack Tests for Coronary Artery Disease
Your doctor will order tests to assess your risk for a heart attack.
Cardiac Catheterization
Helps your doctor determine the pressure on the heart and the blood vessels feeding it. The catheterization requires a small tube to be inserted through the artery in the groin and passed through to the heart. An injection of dye allows your doctor to see the pattern of blood flow to and through your heart and determine if there are blockages.
Exercise Stress Test
This test evaluates how well your heart is functioning. During the stress test, you will walk on a treadmill while a machine monitors your:
- Heart rhythm
- Blood pressure
- Other vital signs
Nuclear Stress Test
An exercise stress test that includes an injection of a small amount of a radioactive material into your vein. This material helps illuminate areas that are blocked and may not be receiving a sufficient blood supply. It reaches your heart as you are exercising. Following the exercise test, you will have an X-ray of your heart.
Drug Tests
If you cannot perform an exercise stress test, your doctor may use drugs that dilate (widen) your blood vessels. After the drugs are injected into your veins, you will receive an injection of radioactive material to help show areas of blockage in the arteries.
Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram (ECHO), also known as a cardiac ultrasound, uses sound waves to create pictures of the heart.
Treatments for a Heart Attack
If you have a heart attack, call 9-11 immediately. The faster you get treatment, the better chance you have to live and limit the damage to your heart.
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) restores the flow of oxygen to the body.
- Electric shock to the heart, or defibrillation, restores a normal heartbeat
- Oxygen delivered through a mask or nose prongs to help you breathe
- Blood thinners prevent the formation of clots
- Nitroglycerin improves blood flow, reduces the workload on your heart and treats pain
If medicines and other treatments do not stop the heart attack, you may need one or more of the following procedures:
Angioplasty and Stenting
Your doctor may be able to clear your carotid artery with a minimally invasive procedure, using angioplasty and a process called stenting. A very thin, flexible tube called a catheter that carries a small balloon is threaded to your artery. The balloon opens and closes, flattening the plaque against the artery walls. Your doctor then inserts a wire mesh tube called a stent into the artery. The stent keeps the artery open and allows the blood to flow freely.
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) may be performed if the arteries bringing blood to your heart (the coronaries) become so thick and hard with fatty deposits called plaque that blood flow is blocked. The blockage creates a risk of heart attack and death. CABG surgery involves grafting a healthy blood vessel to the heart to reroute the blood around the blockage.
Transmyocardial Revascularization
Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) is used to relieve severe chest pain caused by constriction of the arteries (angina) for patients who are not candidates for CABG. Sometimes, TMR is performed along with a CABG.
Your surgeon performs TMR by opening the left side of the chest, exposing the heart and then using lasers to drill small holes in the outside of the heart. The drilling creates channels in the left ventricle. These channels may help to improve blood flow, thus easing the angina. TMR may also help to stimulate the growth of new capillaries (small blood vessels) that supply blood to the heart.