Private Heart

Tests and Scans

with a top Cardiologist in Hampshire

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Please enter your details below and include a brief summary of the problem and convenient days and times for you to see Dr Alsanjari privately.
Patients can be seen in
Candover Clinic or The Hampshire Clinic, Basingstoke.



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    Cardiology Consultation

    There are many causes of chest pain. If your chest pain is due to a problem with your heart you may experience pain while walking. This is called angina and is often due to narrowing of your heart arteries. If you have risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or a family history of heart problems then you may be at risk of developing narrowing of your heart arteries. There are other heart conditions that can also cause chest pain such as rhythm disturbances of the heart or problems with the heart muscle.

    After a consultation, there are various tests that can be done to try and determine the cause of your chest pain, and importantly try to exclude a cardiac cause. Amongst the most sensitive tests exercise ECG, coronary angiography or CT coronary angiography. Your cardiologist will determine the most appropriate test given your circumstances and relevant medical history.

    Ambulatory (Portable) ECG Monitor

    This is a portable ECG that a patient can wear up to 7 days and allows continuous monitoring of the patient’s ECG. Patients also get a diary so they can record the times of their symptoms. The ECG monitor is small (about the size of a mobile phone) with an activator button to press if the patient has symptoms. The ECG can then be analysed and matched to the times in the diary to see if the symptoms (such as chest pains or palpitations) match any changes in the ECG pattern.

    Exercise ECG

    Also called a stress test or treadmill test. This involves walking on a treadmill attached to an ECG to monitor your heart. The treadmill gets progressively steeper and faster and can determine if there is any strain on the heart due to narrowing of the heart arteries. It does not get too fast and you can stop the test upon request.

    Coronary Angiogram

    This is a test where the heart arteries can be directly visualised. This is done by inserting a catheter via the artery in the wrist or leg into the heart and injecting dye while taking x-ray pictures of the heart arteries. This is usually the best way to find out whether the arteries are affected and the severity to which they are affected. The procedure is a low risk procedure and can be done as a day case under local anaesthetic. It is usually performed in patients where there is a high degree of suspicion of coronary artery disease.

    Cardiac CT

    This test is a less invasive version of the coronary angiogram and involves a focused CT scan of the heart with particular focus on the heart arteries. This test is usually performed on patients where there is only a low degree of suspicion of heart disease as it is a less invasive test than a coronary angiogram. The test will provide a calcium score – this is a measure of the amount of calcium in the heart arteries and will provide an indication of the severity of any hardening and narrowing of the heart arteries. If a patient has chest pain that we do not think is due to hardening or narrowing of the heart arteries but we won’t to eliminate all doubt a CT coronary angiogram is a very useful and non-invasive test to help confirm this and offer a great deal of peace of mind.

    Implantable Loop Recorder

    This is a diagnostic device which is implanted/injected under the skin and is slightly larger than a paper clip. The purpose is to record abnormal heart rhythms which are occurring sporadically, and not regularly enough to be picked up by normal ambulatory ECG or patch monitoring. It has a battery life of 3 years, so the underlying cause of palpitations, dizziness or loss of conscious episodes is sure to be found during this period.

    24 Hour Blood Pressure Monitor

    This is a portable blood pressure monitor that you wear for 24 hours. The blood pressure cuff that is around your arm inflates every 30 minutes while you go about your day-to-day activities. This provides a more accurate measure of your blood pressure compared to a one-off recording measured at your doctor’s surgery.

    Echocardiogram

    An echocardiogram is also called a heart ultrasound test and is used to directly visualise the heart muscle and heart valves. It involves using a probe and some gel on the chest wall to view the heart on a screen. It is completely painless and helps determine how efficiently the heart is working. It can also provide information on the heart valves. The results are available immediately and this test is very useful to provide a quick diagnosis. It can also be useful in other conditions such as high blood pressure. The test is also useful if you have a heart murmur.

    Cardiac MRI Scan

    This is a specialised scan of the heart using a magnetic resonance scanner. It provides greater detail about the function of the heart and the valves as well as additional information about the degree of scarring in the heart. It does involve the patient lying in an enclosed space for 45 minutes to 1 hour and holding their breath periodically.

    Dr Os Alsanjari Consultant Cardiologist

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