Are my heart tubes clear?

[Frimley111R]

Two friends (one 40 and one 50) both had heart attacks last year. One dead on the spot. One was a smoker for 25 yrs (of lots of types of stuff) and the other had never done a day of exercise in his life, but both were slim mostly and not obvious candidates.

So, how would I tell/know if the tubes to my heart are clear or not? What tests would I have? I've had ECGs 4 times in the past 2 years as part of pre op checks for a small tumour and they were ok.

I'm slim, exercise regularly and don't have any issues with anything but it did make me a little paranoid. My sister recommended a calcium scan but that does not seem to be the best thing....

[durbster]

I'm in my 40s now and conscious that I'm in the danger zone.

There are things to look out for that you can get checked. If not through your GP then you can book your own tests online at places like Medichecks or Thriva. Some info here:
https://medichecks.com/blogs/news/heart-disease-ar...

[carinatauk]

I am not sure there is an absolute answer to your question. The only real surefire way is an angiogram and given that is fairly major I doubt they will be doing one of those unless you have chest pains.

I have lost mid forty friends due to heat attacks, some due to coronary artery disease and one due to heart failure [ie it just stopped, cardiomyopathy?]

If you are really concerned I would talk to your doctor. They can do a blood test to see if there are any markers that would point to further investigation [might be for heart damage?]; they also take into consideration family history.

[AlexC1981]

I had some dizzy spells and felt faint a few months ago. Because I'm not far off 40 and my father died from a heart attack in his early 40s, my GP let me have an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test.

Still not got the results of the blood test, but they had a cardiologist check the ECG and didn't find anything to worry about.

An ECG is a quick and non-invasive check on your heart rhythm and electrical activity. It's not exactly proof that nothing is wrong, but it's a good sign. My dizzy spells seemed to go away on their own.

[MGZTV8]

I’m 49, an ex smoker and have an extensive family history of heart disease.

I’ve recently been suffering dizzy spells and palpitations and ended up in A&E after a particularly bad episode and they suspected paroxymal atrial fibrillation.

I’ve had a 24 hour ecg and an echocardiogram (ultrasound on my heart) and both thankfully have come back clear. I was a bit worried.

My symptoms continue to happen which I now suspect is severe anxiety and I’m waiting for an appointment at the GP next week.