ecg variations

my father had no problem till now .he is 53 yrs old he have got diabetes type 2.at first he got heart burn .he went to the doctor after 1 week .ecg was taken and it showed variations .doctor asked to take an angiogram .is there anything to fear ,since father says he doesnt feel any fatigue or breathlesness .but sometimes after 1 month he says he is feeling little brethless sometime .please clarify me about the nature of disease.

[kenkeith]

An ekg is not a very good source to dx CAD (occluded vessels), too may false positives, but a follow through with more testing if symptomatic, etc.  To go from an ekg to angiogram seems unnecessary based on the information posted.  A stress test is a less invasive procedure, and usually shows any occluded vessels. Why is that test avoided?

An angiogram can be with a cath (invasive...probe the coronary arteries) or an angiogram can be the Modern CT angiograms that uses multiple detectors to capture images from different rotations of the CT scanner. These machines use 64 detectors or scanners which helps in reducing the scanning time and increases the efficiency to a high level.

There may be a slight risk of cancer due to excessive exposure to radiation. But the advantage of a correct diagnosis outweighs this risk. It may be contraindicated for you as it should be avoided in patients suffering with kidney diseases or diabetes, as the contrast material used during the scanning can further damage the kidney functioning.



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