would a stress test or echcocardiogram or ekg tell if you have hardening of the arteries?

Answer 1

My husband and father both had quadruple bypasses during the summer of 2005.

Both were given EKG's and Echo's and both showed some abnormality. My dad was given a stress test, and as I recall, it was the Isotope Stress Test (or IST). This test includes imaging before the stress test, then the stress test itself (treadmill), then imaging after the stress test.

For the "after" imaging, a nuclear isotope is injected and the imaging machine takes 3-D images of the heart. The dye shows where blood flow is slowed or stopped by plaque.

They found Dad's blockages this way.

For my husband, however, the doctor said that based on how he "looked", and on the EKG and Echo, he wasn't going to put him through a stress test because "I know you'll fail it". He sent my husband straight to the hospital, where they did the angiogram. This is how they found his blockages.

As others here have stated, the EKG, Echo, and stress tests can't tell a doctor difinitively that there are blocked arteries and/or veins, but abnormal readings can indicate a possible problem.

From these readings the doctor can then determine the next testing to be done in order to pinpoint the exact problem. In these two men, one was diagnosed with the IST, the other with the angiogram.

For more info, you can check out these sites:

Angiogram:
http://www.vascularweb.org/_CONTRIBUTION_PAGES/Patient_Information/NorthPoint/Angiogram.html

IST:
http://www.heartsite.com/html/isotope_stress.html

It's amazing how educated one becomes when a family member is diagnosed with a health issue. Between cancer (5 fam members), artherosclerosis (3 fam members, all had quad-bypasses, all in 2005), Multiple Sclerosis, and Diabetes, I now seem to know more about these issues than I ever thought I would!

Best wishes!

Answer 2

A Stress Test and EKG are going to show that there may be a problem going on in the heart, it will let them know that they need to look further or not. To check for the Hardening of the arteries they will probably have to do a Heart Cauterization. That also checks for blockage. If you feel you are having trouble with this and especially if there is a family history then you need to see your doctor and get an educated opinion. Good luck and I hope that everything is okay. God Bless You.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

No. But if the EKG or stress test is abnormal, other tests can be ran. Usually a catheter can tell about hardening of the arteries.

Answer 5

An EKG will show an abnormality for ischemia in the heart.. An Echo will show the function of the heart, the thickness of the walls of the heart, if a blockage is present, that part of the heart will not function properly which suggest that there is a blockage . Stress test will prove there is a blockage after stressing your heart out , getting the maximum beats per minute with EKG changes ,

Answer 6

EKG will tell you about the rhythm of the heart, and whether there is currently or previously was a heart attack. It will not tell you about hardening of arteries.

Echocardiogram will tell you about the function of the heart muscle and the heart valves, again not hardening of arteries.

Stress test can tell you if the hardening in your heart vessels is severe enough to cause blockages. If it is mild, it will not show up on a stress test.

Answer 7

Atherosclerosis (hardened arteries) can only be definitively diagnosed by something such as angiography or catheterization. However, an abnormal stress test or EKG or echo, can all bee indirect evidence of atheroslerosis.

Answer 8

i believe the ECG's or the EKG's can tell you if your heart is working overtime or having a hard time pumping -- because what we look out for are the heart contractions -- blocked or hardened arteries can cause abnormal contractions, but there are other factors as well.