Heart Disease is the number one cause of untimely deaths in the world. Bad lifestyle choices is the main cause for cardiac disease. Fatty food, lack of exercise, stress, smoking and alcohol are bad for heart health. Genetics also plays an important role in heart disease. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common amongst the heart diseases. In this the arteries supplying blood to the heart get clogged which reduces the supply of blood to the heart. This results in cardiac arrest and can cause sudden death.
Other heart diseases include defect in one of the heart valves, irregular heart beat, hole in the heart, increase in the heart size, reduced blood pumping etc.
Cathlab Angiography is the most authentic test of the heart conditions. In this test the patient is admitted to the hospital and some basic blood tests are done before attempting to do Cathlab Angiography. The test is done on a Cathlab which is found only in big hospitals. The patient has to lie on a table and the cardiologist would sedate the patient. A guidewire is inserted either through the femoral artery(thigh) or radial artery (wrist). The guidewire is slowly pushed towards the coronary arteries and images from inside of the coronary arteries are obtained. Any kind of blockage in the coronary arteries can be seen on the computer screen.
Other tests for heart are ECG, Treadmill Test, Echocardiography, Thallium Test, Muga Scan and CT Angiography. Each test gives vital information about the heart health.
Cathlab Angiography of the heart vessels is the most authentic cardiac test and is available only at big hospitals and heart centres. heart tests and is easily available at most of the physician clinics and hospital emergency. The cost of ECG in India is in the range of INR 300 - 500 which is equivalent to USD 5 - 7. An ECG machine costs INR 35,000 - 1,50,000 depending upon the number of parallel electrodes information provided by the machine. This ranges between 3 electrodes to 12 electrodes. The cost of other heart tests ranges between Rs. 1,500 - 15,000 which is equivalent to USD 20 - 200. Most of the tests for the heart are non-invasive in nature except Cath Lab Angigraphy.
Most of the tests for heart are done by Cardiologists. These are doctors who have done MBBS, MD (Medicine) and DM (Cardiology). However some of the tests like Echocardiography can also be done by doctors who hold a diploma in Cardiology. For Coronary Angiography procedure in India Dr Sanjeev Chaudhary in Gurgaon and Dr Sandeep Parekh in Mohali, Punjab are the best cardiologist or heart specialist