As with any vital equipment which is needed on a daily basis, our heart too requires regular servicing and maintenance to keep if functioning well.
The average life expectancy in Singapore is close to 84yrs old. At 50yrs old, one would have 34 more years of life ahead of them. Our aim is to keep patients healthy and be able to enjoy more years of healthy living. Regular screening allows patients to detect diseases early, hence allowing early intervention and treatment. Having a heart screening once a year can help pick up potential diseases sooner and hence treatment can be initiated earlier.
The heart screening tests a 50yr old healthy man ought to go for can be broadly categorised into a) laboratory tests; b) non-invasive cardiac tests and c) additional tests (depending on the results of the first 2 categories).
For laboratory tests:
- Blood tests to check one’s liver, kidney, thyroid, blood abnormalities, high uric acid (marker of gout), diabetes, high cholesterol. Having abnormalities in the mentioned blood tests may increase one’s chances of developing future heart diseases and affect their life expectancy and quality of life.
- Urine tests to check for presence of kidney dysfunction (e.g. presence of sugar, protein, blood in urine).
For non-invasive cardiac tests:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG): A safe and quick test, it can pick up abnormal heart rate, rhythm, possible abnormal heart structure or prior heart attack and conduction abnormalities.
- Echocardiogram (2DE): A safe ultrasound scan of the heart done in 15-20minutes, it can detect abnormal heart structures/valves/wall thickness and movement, resting heart function and abnormal flow amongst many other capabilities.
- Treadmill: A relatively safe test where one physically runs on a treadmill machine for a fixed period of time, with continuous monitoring of their blood pressure response, symptoms and electrical activity of the heart to look for abnormalities suggesting blockage of heart arteries or conduction abnormalities.
For additional tests:
- CT coronary angiogram with Calcium Score: A relatively safe, non-invasive scan to look for any blockages of heart arteries, as well as degree of “hardening” of the heart artery wall (which predicts future risk of heart attack/stroke, as well as helps guide treatment targets for cholesterol lowering). Can be done if screening tests detect risk factors (e.g. diabetes, high cholesterol) or risk scoring of patient suggest increased risk of future cardiovascular events.
