Chest Pain Diagnosis
If you are rushed to hospital with chest pain symptoms, a number of tests will be performed to confirm the chest pain diagnosis and help your health care team decide on the best treatment for you. These may include:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) - During an ECG test, electrical leads are placed on your chest, arms and legs. These leads detect small electrical signals and produce a tracing on graph paper illustrating the electrical impulses travelling through the heart muscle.
- Blood tests
- Chest X-ray
- Angiogram - This is a special X-ray that shows whether your coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked. Under a local anaesthetic, a small tube (catheter) is inserted into an artery in your arm or groin and guided into the heart. Dye is injected through the catheter into the coronary arteries and X-rays are taken, giving detailed information about the condition of your coronary arteries.