Testing blood pressure and for heart issues

These tips will tell you what to expect if you need any kind of heart or blood pressure testing. It is recommended you get your blood pressure checked if you haven't recently.

• When your blood pressure is measured, two readings are taken, expressed as an upper and a lower number. The upper number denotes systolic blood pressure, or the force on the artery walls when your heart is contracting to pump out blood. The lower number is the diastolic pressure, or the force when the heart is at rest between beats.
• A healthy reading is 120/80 or less (systolic pressure/diastolic pressure).
• A consistent reading of 140/90 or higher is diagnosed as high blood pressure, at any age, and requires treatment.
• Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). If your blood pressure is on the high side, a reduction of just 10mmHg in systolic pressure and 5mmHg in diastolic pressure will cut your risk of strokes by 38 per cent, with a 16 per cent risk reduction of heart disease.

If you are experiencing symptoms such as chest pain or breathlessness that suggest a heart risk, your doctor may refer you to a specialist. The exploratory tests that could be offered include:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG): a recording of the electrical activity of your heart. This may be done while you are lying down or, if you get symptoms predominantly after exertion, while you exercise on a treadmill.
• Sometimes you will be fitted with wires to monitor the electrical activity of your heart during a 24-hour period.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): a scan that uses a very powerful magnet to create cross-section images of internal body tissues so doctors can see the physical structure of the heart.
• You will be asked to lie very still on the machine couch, which slides into the tunnel-like scanner.
• Radionuclide scans: various tests in which tiny amounts of radioactive substances are injected into your bloodstream. When these reach the heart, they can be detected by a special camera, producing images of your coronary arteries or showing how well your heart is pumping.
• For one of these tests, myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), an isotope injection is given after the patient has been pedalling on an exercise bike or treadmill.
• A scan is then performed to show the blood flow in the heart muscle.
• Computed Tomography (CT): a special type of X-ray that produces detailed pictures of cross sections of the body. Sometimes it is used to assess how much calcium has been deposited in your coronary arteries — a measure of hard plaque, which is made up of calcium and collagen.
• Angiography: X-ray pictures taken after the injection of a special dye to reveal the coronary arteries.
• If exploratory tests reveal that you have severe coronary artery disease, your doctor may recommend surgical treatment to reduce the risk of a heart attack. For example, it may be possible to open up the coronary arteries (angioplasty) or to bypass them altogether (coronary artery bypass graft surgery).