How to Check Heart Health
Because your health matters.
Assessing the full functionality of your heart can be challenging without the expert evaluation of a healthcare professional. While some observable signs and symptoms might prompt you to take proactive measures, the most precise method to gauge your heart health is through medical testing.
Thankfully, various examinations, encompassing blood tests and scans, provide a comprehensive assessment of your heart health. Medical tests and advanced technologies can unveil issues such as narrowed or blocked arteries, heart muscle damage, and other abnormalities at an early stage, preventing them from evolving into more severe problems. A thorough examination can result in early detection, enabling the timely implementation of suitable treatments.
Certain individuals face an elevated risk of developing heart conditions, including heart disease. It becomes crucial for them to undergo testing if symptoms begin to manifest. If you already contend with health issues like diabetes or high blood pressure, it is advisable to undergo regular heart health tests. Additionally, individuals who smoke or are overweight fall into the high-risk category for heart disease.
Our private Health MOTs include Heart Disease Risk and Stroke Assessment Tests that are a quick, easy and accurate way to check on your overall heart health.
Explore our packages and book online today.
What is a Healthy Heart?
A healthy heart is vital if you want to live a long and active life. The definition of a healthy heart is one that performs all the necessary tasks required to keep you alive. As a healthy heart beats, it pumps nutrient and oxygen-rich blood around the body. It is also responsible for carrying away carbon dioxide and waste products. In order to do this, the heart muscle must be healthy and the connected arteries should be free from obstructions and disease.
If a heart becomes damaged or affected by disease, its ability to pump blood to all body parts becomes limited. Heart disease is one such condition that can affect heart function.
Heart disease, otherwise known as coronary heart disease, occurs when one or more of the coronary arteries supplying oxygen-rich blood to the heart is blocked or becomes narrow. A build-up of atheroma or fatty deposits causes restriction in these arteries. Atherosclerosis is the term given to narrow arteries which makes it difficult for blood to flow through them. It increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.
What are the First Signs of Heart Disease?
Heart disease consists of several types of heart conditions that affect the flow of blood to the heart. Individuals with undiagnosed heart disease do not always show symptoms. However, as the disease progresses, it can result in angina (chest pain) or, more seriously, a heart attack.
Awareness of signs of heart disease and the associated symptoms can be life saving and may include:
- chest pain (angina)
- shortness of breath
- feeling sick (nausea)
- pain in your neck, shoulders, jaw or arms
- feeling faint
However, not everyone has these symptoms before they are diagnosed with heart disease.
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of heart attacks. Symptoms of a heart attack can include:
- chest pain: a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest - this is the most prevalent sign of a heart attack
- pain in other parts of the body: it can feel as if the pain is shooting in the left arm but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy
- feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- sweating or clamminess (unexplained)
- shortness of breath
- feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting) accompanied by chest pain
- an overwhelming feeling of anxiety (similar to a panic attack)
- coughing or wheezing
Should you experience any of these symptoms and suspect you are having a heart attack, call 999 for immediate help.
Common Tests to Check for Heart Disease
Information obtained from a diverse array of tests, ranging from basic pulse checks to comprehensive medical examinations, can provide valuable insights into the state of your heart health.
Whether you have concerns about your heart's performance or have encountered symptoms related to the heart, undergoing these tests can validate or exclude various heart-related issues.
Blood Pressure Test
Measuring the amount of pressure in the arteries as the heart pumps, a blood pressure test can determine if your blood pressure is too high or too low. High blood pressure could indicate a narrowing of the arteries.
B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP)
A test that measures the levels of BNP protein in the blood. Natriuretic peptides help to regulate circulation and widen blood vessels. Should the heart struggle to pump enough blood around the body, more BNP is produced to compensate. Therefore, high levels of BNP in the blood can suggest heart failure.
Cardiac MRI
Using an MRI machine, a detailed image of the heart is produced. A cardiac MRI is used to detect and monitor heart disease.
Check your pulse
When carried out correctly, one of the simplest heart health tests can establish whether you have a regular or irregular heartbeat. Check your pulse by counting the number of beats over 60 seconds.
Cholesterol Test
Also referred to as lipid panel, a cholesterol test can help detect early signs of issues such as heart disease and diabetes. High cholesterol levels in the blood often signify an increased risk of narrowed or blocked arteries due to a build-up of fatty deposits.
Coronary Angiogram
An angiogram uses a contrast dye to look out for obstructions in the coronary arteries, which may reduce blood flow to the heart. Unlike an x-ray, this test also highlights blood vessels that usually don’t show up on a standard x-ray.
ECG
A simple but effective test which shows the heart’s rhythm, rate and electrical activity recorded on a graph. An ECG is used to identify a fast, slow or irregular heart rhythm, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease or abnormalities in the heart.
Echocardiogram
Also known as an ‘echo’, it uses sound waves to check the heart and nearby blood vessels for defects, damage and blockages.
Hba1c Test
Typically, a Hba1c Test checks glucose levels in the blood in order to diagnose diabetes. Diabetes can lead to other serious health conditions, including heart disease. Studies have shown that higher HbA1c levels have been linked with an increased risk of heart disease.
Heart CT Scan
Known as a computerised tomography, a heart CT scan is an imaging test that checks the arteries supplying blood to the heart.
Myocardial Perfusion Scan
This scan uses a small amount of a radioactive chemical, which is usually injected into a vein, to evaluate the blood flow to the muscles of the heart. Poor blood flow may affect areas that do not absorb the radioactive chemical or radionuclide.
Full Health MOT
A top-to-toe health MOT gives an overview of your general health. A health MOT not only checks your heart health, using tests for cholesterol, diabetes (HbA1c Blood Test) and more, but also the health of other body systems. A full health check can help to detect deficiencies, abnormalities and dysfunction in the body so that you can take the next steps towards treatment.
How to Improve Your Heart Health
In order to prevent the onset of heart disease, you can take measures to ensure that your heart remains in top condition. Certain dietary, lifestyle and physical activity interventions can improve your health and limit your heart disease risk. Ways in which you can look after the health of your heart include:
- Exercise regularly to work-out the heart muscle
- Quit smoking
- Aim for and maintain a healthy weight
- Eat healthy, nutrient-rich foods
- Reduce consumption of processed foods
- Lower your saturated fat intake
- Choose unsaturated fats such as olive oil
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink
- Increase your intake of dietary fibre sources
- Avoid too much salt in the diet
- Manage your stress levels
How to get Heart Health Checked
Heart health tests are included in our range of health checks, giving you peace of mind over the health and function of your heart. Moreover, undergoing a health MOT, will assess how well other vital organs and systems are working in the body.
Our full body private health checks are designed for busy people who want to take control of their health. Our tests are quick, accurate, convenient and completely stress-free. No waiting for an appointment, no invasive procedures, no embarrassing questions, no long travel times and no busy waiting rooms.
Trained health assessment specialists carry out all tests in over 350 venues across the UK and Ireland, so you get accurate professional health checks within 20 minutes of your home. Our private health checks include all the tests you need to take a proactive approach to monitoring and improving your health.
Any individual tests can be added to any full body health check. Just book one of our full body private health assessments and call us before your appointment to add an extra test.
What’s Included in our MOTs?
Booking in for our health MOTs is your first step to checking your heart function, among other essential aspects of health. Whichever of our health MOT packages you choose, you will be given an overview of your health, including your risk of heart disease and stroke. Insightful heart health tests included in all three packages are:
- Blood Pressure Test
- Heart Rhythm (ECG Test)
- Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Test
- Cholesterol & Advanced Diabetes Test
Our Core Health MOT includes an additional blood health profile, which checks your haemoglobin levels. Sometimes, abnormal haemoglobin levels can indicate heart disease and other conditions.
In addition to heart health tests, our Complete Health MOTs cover all the benefits of the Core Heath MOT and more. Our Complete Health MOT also includes a specialist Lipoprotein (a) Test, which assesses arterial health, and a private consultation to discuss your results in detail with a healthcare professional.
Take Control of Your Heart Health
Testing how well your heart and other organs function is one way you can take control of your health. Full body health checks can detect any issues or undiagnosed health conditions or simply set you on the right path to taking ownership of your own health and wellness. After receiving your personalised Results Report, you can make the next move towards treatment, lifestyle changes or further testing should you require them.
Booking one of our health MOTs is your first step to taking control of your health and better understanding how your body functions. Whether you are concerned or just curious as to how well your body systems are functioning, book in today for a top-to-toe health MOT.
