Rest ECG | Diagnosis of coronary heart disease

Rest ECG

The resting ECG (ECG = echocardiogram), where the patient lies on his back and does not strain himself, can have an indicative function in the diagnosis of CHD. An ECG shows the electrical processes of the heart in the form of a characteristic ECG curve. Various heart diseases lead to changes in the normal ECG curve. If the patient has not suffered a heart attack with myocardial ischemia (lack of oxygen in the heart muscle cells), the resting ECG is inconspicuous in many CHD patients or only offers uncharacteristic changes that are not evidence of CHD.

Exercise ECG

A stress ECG (ergometry) can be performed as part of CHD diagnostics to detect ECG changes under physical exertion. Under controlled conditions and medical supervision, an increase in cardiac output and oxygen consumption is induced in the patient. This can be used to detect myocardial ischemia (lack of oxygen to the heart muscle cells), which occurs as a result of coronary heart disease (CHD). Characteristic changes in the ECG such as ST segment depression indicate the presence of coronary heart disease.A stress ECG should never be performed if, among other things, the patient suffers from unstable angina pectoris, has recently suffered a heart attack, is suffering from acute myocarditis, has a heart defect associated with clinical symptoms or is known to have serious general illnesses.

Long-term ECG

A long-term ECG over 24 hours can reveal ischemia-related ECG changes and especially silent ischemia (lack of oxygen in the heart muscle cells without any patient complaints). The imaging techniques used to assess the presence of CHD are stress echocardiography, myocardial scintigraphy and coronary angiography. In addition to its diagnostic function, coronary angiography is also of therapeutic importance in the treatment of CHD.

Echocardiography

Echocardiography, a sonographic examination (ultrasound) of the heart, is a key diagnostic tool for viewing the anatomy of the heart and its pumping function. With this examination it is possible to detect findings such as enlarged ventricles or valvular dysfunction and to visualize scar areas in the heart muscle after a heart attack.