Coronary heart disease (CHD) or Coronary Artery Disease

The first step toward heart health is becoming aware of your own personal risk for heart disease. Some risks, such as smoking cigarettes, are obvious: every woman knows whether or not she smokes. But other risk factors, such as high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, generally don't have obvious signs or symptoms. So you'll need to gather some information to create your personal "heart profile."

No single test can diagnose coronary heart (artery) disease. However, in addition to gathering medical histories, assessing risk factors, and a giving a physical exam, there are specific tests a doctor can run to help pinpoint the diagnosis. These test include:

A fatal heart attack is often the first symptom of heart disease, but heart attacks are preventable if the disease is discovered early.

Fifty percent of myocardial infarctions occur in patients with no prior history of disease. Cholesterol is believed to be one of the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease, but 35% with established heart disease have acceptable total cholesterol levels. This data would lead us to believe that current methods for detecting heart disease are not sufficient.