Never try to diagnose yourself. If you experience symptoms that might signal a heart attack, such as shortness of breath, lightheadedness, stomach pain, or chest pain or pressure, call 911 or go to Emergency Department immediately.

If we all wore our hearts on our sleeves, it would be so much easier for doctors to examine the heart for signs of trouble. When a patient comes to the Emergency Department with chest pain or pressure, it can be the sign of a heart attack. Or it may be a condition totally unrelated to the heart, such as pneumonia, muscle strain in the chest wall, acid reflux or even anxiety.

How do we know?

The Cardiac Services staff at the Heart Center of Doylestown Hospital offers a wide range of noninvasive tests that look into your heart without surgery and detect coronary artery disease, even at the early stages. Most diagnostic tests can be done on an outpatient basis. That means you may not need to spend even one night in the hospital. "The diagnostic tests we provide in Cardiac Services are very comprehensive and easy to schedule. Our outpatients can expect prompt and complete services," says managing nurse, Eileen Yannerella, RN.

Here are some of the painless, noninvasive tests that help diagnose a heart attack or other cardiac conditions such as narrowing of the arteries, valve disorders, arrhythmia or blood clots.

• An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) records your heartbeat and irregular heart rhythms and can detect recent heart attack damage. Electrodes are applied to the chest to transmit electrical signals from the heart, which are printed in graph form.
• An exercise stress test measures how your heart functions during exercise. Electrocardiogram and blood pressure readings are taken before, during and after you walk on a treadmill. The test detects if areas of the heart are not getting enough blood flow during exercise due to narrowed or diseased arteries in the heart.
• A cardiac nuclear exercise stress test provides a better picture than the ECG or stress test. You are injected with a harmless radioactive isotope. Images are taken before and after you exercise on a treadmill. Diseased heart muscle will not pick up as much isotope, indicating the heart has been scarred by a heart attack or there is a narrowing or blockage of the arteries. If you can't exercise, you can be injected with Dobutamine-a medication that makes your heart beat faster-as well as the radioactive material. Images are taken to determine if areas of the heart are not receiving enough blood.
• An echocardiogram uses ultrasound waves to create a picture of the heart. A device called a transducer is moved across the chest to obtain different views of the heart. The test can detect valve disorders, heart attack, blood clots, fluid around the heart and other conditions.
• A stress echo test is an echocardiogram taken before and after you walk on a treadmill.
• A transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) examines the heart from a different angle. While sedated, you swallow a tiny transducer, which is positioned behind the heart. The transducer emits sound waves that create images on a screen. A TEE can detect blood clots, narrowed or leaky heart valves, heart wall aneurysms, cardiac masses and congenital abnormalities.
• A holter monitor is a small recorder worn around the waist for 24 to 48 hours to monitor heart rhythm during normal activity.
• An event monitor is a portable device worn for up to a month. Each time you experience chest pain, palpitations, fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath, you press "record" on the monitor, which stores an electrocardiogram reading; you send the information over the phone to the Cardiac Services Department.

For more information about Cardiac Services at Doylestown Hospital, call 215-345-2231.