Diagnosing Heart Disease: Medical History

When diagnosing heart disease, a doctor will always ask for your medical history. This is important for a number of reasons. While your doctor will most likely run a series of test, assessing medical history and doing a physical examination are often enough to determine whether or not a person has a form of heart disease.

What to Expect
Your doctor will ask you a series of questions, including symptoms, conditions you've had in the past, and lifestyle habits that might contribute to heart disease. Anything you tell your doctor concerning your medical history is kept confidential.

When diagnosing heart disease, the doctor will most likely ask you to give him or her a rundown of your symptoms. You should always be completely honest with your doctor. Symptoms that include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath or fainting spells, and swelling in the legs and feet are indicative of heart disease. Other symptoms you should tell your doctor about that may or may not be heart disease include fatigue, weakness, or nausea.

The doctor will also ask you about any past surgeries or conditions you may have had. People with conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease are at an increased risk for heart disease, so the doctor will need to know about those. In addition, he will ask you a series of questions concerning your lifestyle. Whether or not you smoke, how much alcohol you drink, how much (if any) regular exercise you get each week, and your diet.

In addition, your doctor will most likely ask you if there is a history of heart disease in your family. Genetics plays a large factor in heart disease, particularly if it comes from your mother's side.

What Next?
If your doctor suspects you may have a form of heart disease, he will most likely order a series of tests. These include an ECG and EKG, among others. He will also test blood pressure and cholesterol level.

Types of Heart Disease
There are actually a variety of heart diseases. They include:
Arteriosclerosis: This form of heart disease occurs when the arteries become thick with plaque made from cholesterol and fat deposits. This plaque attaches itself to the walls of the arteries, causing them to harden and become less flexible.
Atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis occurs when fat deposits within the arteries cause them to narrow, reducing the amount of blood that reaches the heart.
Angina: Angina is another term for chest pain and indicates the heart is not getting enough blood. There are several forms of angina - stable, which is the most common and goes away after a few minutes; unstable, which is the most dangerous and does not cease with rest. It is often followed by a heart attack. Variant angina is rare, occurs when a person is resting, but is relieved with medicine.
Heart Attack. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot or other form of blockage completely cuts off the supply of blood to a part of the heart. This is a life-threatening event that should be treated immediately.

After determining what form of heart disease you have, if any, the doctor will take appropriate steps. He will probably prescribe medication. Sometimes, surgery will be necessary. In addition, he will most likely suggest you make some lifestyle changes in order to promote better heart health.

Your medical history is an important tool in diagnosing, preventing, and treating heart disease.