Obligatory medical device diagnostics.
- Electrocardiogram1-5 (ECG; recording of the electrical activity of the heart muscle).
- Echocardiography1-5 (echo; cardiac ultrasound) including color Doppler – for localization and quantification of valvular insufficiencies and stenoses.
Optional medical device diagnostics – depending on the results of the history, physical examination and obligatory laboratory parameters – for differential diagnostic clarification.
- Exercise ECG1+2 (electrocardiogram during exercise, that is, physical activity/exercise ergometry) [mitral regurgitation: P mitral; possible atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy, possibly. Signs of right heart strain in advanced stages; aortic stenosis: signs of left heart hypertrophy (positive Skolow-Lyon index), ST-segment elevations, especially in leads I, V5, and V6 as an expression of ischemia; aortic regurgitation: accentuation of Q-spikes, signs of left heart hypertrophy].
- Cardiac catheterization
- Right heart catheterization1
- Left heart catheterization1+2+3+4+5
- Long-term ECG (ECG applied over 24 hours) – to exclude intermittent arrhythmias; event recorder if necessary.
- X-ray of the thorax (X-ray thorax/chest), in two planes – to show the size of the heart.
- Cardio-CT/Cardio-MRI – to accurately depict the anatomy and function of the heart.
- Nuclear medicine procedures such as: Myocardial scintigraphy or positron emission tomography (PET; nuclear medicine procedure that allows the creation of cross-sectional images of living organisms by visualizing the distribution patterns of weak radioactive substances) – to assess the myocardium (heart muscle) when ischemia (reduced blood flow) is suspected.
1Mitral valve stenosis (mitral stenosis)2Mitral valve insufficiency (mitral regurgitation)3Mitral valve prolapse4Aortic valve stenosis (aortic stenosis)5Aortic valve insufficiency (aortic regurgitation).
