I have given brief descriptions to help you and your family understand some of the investigations and treatments commonly used in the management of heart patients. The descriptions are written generally but inevitably will not apply to everyone. You should discuss your investigations and treatment in more detail with your cardiologist. Furthermore, you must realise that as well as benefits from a particular investigation or treatment, there will always be potential risks.

Risks can range from minor (e.g. bruising) to major (e.g. a heart attack, stroke or not surviving). You must remember that we are dealing with the heart. The risk of a procedure has to be balanced against the benefit from the procedure and also against the risk of not undertaking the procedure/treatment in the first place.

These are important issues. The risks and benefits will depend on the severity of your heart disease and so, rather than generalising here, I believe it is more important that you discuss this carefully with your cardiologist who will try to give you figures relating to you and your heart rather than to the general population.

Please click on Investigations to the right to find out more about each: