Emad F. Aziz, DO, MB ChB, FACC

Not at all, they place medical gel at the carotid site at the side of your neck and a small US probe is used. You will hear some sound depicting the flow of blood within the artery. It should take about 10 minutes

It is a specialized CT scan of the heart that require injection of a bolus of intravenous contrast to evaluate the coronary arteries.

A coronary calcium scan is generally considered useful for people who have a known moderate risk of heart disease or when the risk is uncertain. There are different tools for an initial risk assessment, but all of them use factors, such as your age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and tobacco use. A moderate risk is generally defined as a 5 to 7.5 percent chance of a heart attack in the next 10 years or when the risk is calculated to be low, but there is a history of heart attacks at an early age in the family.

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines published in 2013 on cardiovascular risk assessment suggested that it would be reasonable to perform coronary calcium heart scans for people with a calculated risk of 5 to 7.5 percent or when "a risk-based treatment decision is uncertain."

A Calcium scan does result in radiation exposure. While this exposure is generally considered safe, it is not recommended when there is no likely benefit to getting the scan. In other words, when the scan is not likely to provide any information that is useful in defining your risk or directing a treatment plan, the risk of radiation exposure outweighs any potential benefit.

According to the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines, a calcium scan is generally not recommended for the following people:

Men under age 40 and women under age 50, because detectable calcium at younger ages is not likely
People who have a low risk, because detectable calcium is highly unlikely, in the absence of family history of heart attacks at early age
People who already have a known high risk, because the heart scan will likely not provide any additional information to guide treatment decisions
People who already have symptoms or a diagnosis of heart disease, because the procedure would not help doctors better understand the disease progression or risk
People who already had an abnormal coronary calcium heart scan

Echocardiography, also called an echo test or heart ultrasound, is a test that takes “moving pictures” of the heart with sound waves. It doesn’t hurt.
Echo tests are done by trained sonographers. You’ll lie on a bed on your left side or back, the sonographer will put special jelly on a probe and move it over your chest area, ultra-high-frequency sound waves will pick up images of your heart and valves.
Your heart’s movements can be seen on a video screen, it usually takes one hour and is painless and has no side effects. Sometimes the probe needs to be closer to your heart to give clearer pictures.
Sound waves will pick up images as explained above. What can the test show? The size and shape of your heart, how well your heart is working overall, if a wall or section of heart muscle is weak and not working correctly, If you have problems with your heart’s

Yes, there are some signs that can be seen on EKG which could be suggestive of old heart attack. EKG shows the travel of electrical impulses through the conduction system and the heart muscle and should the patient has any abnormality in the conduction system or the muscle that would result in an abnormality that can be detected by experienced eyes in an EKG.

Depend on what king of stress test it is. Treadmill stress test can take up to an hour. A stress test that combine treadmill and imaging (nuclear or echocardiography) can take longer 1:30-2 hours

Holter monitor is a beat to beat evaluation of your heart beat over a period of time typically 24 or 48 hours. Typically you get the total heart rate, average heart rate, maximum and minimum heart rate and any abnormalities in the rhythm and any extra beats either from the upper or lower chamber of the heart. In summary it is a snapshot of all heart activities over certain period of time

Sinus arrhythmia is typically a subtle changes in the sinus rhythm that could be very benign due to respiratory variation in the majority of cases however in very small portion of the population can be a precursor of further arrhythmias

Post cardiac surgery physicians typically order an echocardiography to evaluate of heart function, and an electrocardiogram to rule out arrhythmia.

Yes, it is a very simple test that is performed by placing sticky electrodes on the skin and recording the heart beat (electrical activity). It is a non-invasive procedure and posts no harm whatsoever. Good luck.

Atrial fibrillation is a progressive disease, that can lead to many symptoms including shortness of breath, fatigue, sleepiness, stroke and could lead to heart failure. Please review this brief video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXpED4UUu4s

It typically looks for blockages of the artery that could cause stroke or passing out.

Abnormal ECG can range from a slight abnormality that can be a variant to a major problem, cardiologist can easily differentiate between normal variant and real abnormal ECG

A heart murmur is typically caused by a leaky heart valve, however abnormally fast heart rate could be a normal reaction to stress or anxiety or an abnormal rhythm due to abnormality in the electrical system of the heart. My suggestion is to see a cardiologist who will likely order some sort of a monitoring system for couple of weeks to capture the rhythm and appropriately analyse it.

Electrocardiogram is the simplest and first test that is done to evaluate the electrical system (nervous) system of the heart.

It is a CT scan where they inject contrast to evaluate the arteries that supply the heart (Coronary Arteries).

You're 20 and your heart rate at baseline should be low and 60-65 is appropriate.

It is a continual ECG for 24-48 hours and count every heart beat during this time.

No

Maximum heart rate is calculated as 220-your current age so if you are 40 years old your predicated maximum heart rate is 220-40=180 beat-per-minute and most people would reach 85% of their maximum heart rate with no issue and health people can reach 100% of that as well.