Tests, explained
If you have been told to have a test, this is what will actually happen — how long it takes, what to wear, whether it hurts, and just as importantly what a normal result does and does not rule out.
ECG
EKG · Electrocardiography · Heart tracing
About 5 minutes
A recording of the heart's electrical activity from small stickers placed on the skin. It takes a few minutes, involves no needles and no radiation, and is usually the first test performed.
What it involvesEchocardiography
Echo · Cardiac ultrasound · 2D echo
20 to 40 minutes
An ultrasound scan of the heart. It shows the chambers moving in real time, measures how strongly the heart pumps, and examines each of the four valves. No radiation is involved.
What it involvesHolter monitoring
24-hour ECG · Ambulatory ECG · Heart rhythm monitor
Worn 24 to 72 hours
A small ECG recorder worn under your clothes for a day or more, so that a rhythm disturbance which comes and goes can be captured while you go about ordinary life.
What it involvesStress test
TMT · Exercise ECG · Treadmill test
About 45 minutes in total
An ECG recorded while you walk on a treadmill that gets progressively faster and steeper, to see how the heart behaves when it is asked to work hard rather than at rest.
What it involvesBP monitoring
ABPM · 24-hour BP monitor · Blood pressure holter
Worn 24 hours
A cuff worn for 24 hours that measures blood pressure automatically through the day and overnight, giving a truer picture than readings taken in a clinic.
What it involves
Three things worth doing
- 01
Bring your previous reports, including old ones. Comparison with a previous test is often more informative than the new test on its own.
- 02
Bring your actual medicine strips rather than a list from memory. Doses matter, and some medicines affect specific tests.
- 03
Ask when you book whether you need to fast, and whether to take your usual medicines that morning. It varies by test.
Not sure which test you need?
That is what the consultation decides. Tests are ordered to answer a specific question, not as a matter of routine.
- Clinic
- 13, Ground Floor, M.K. Plaza, Hospital Road, near Madhav Dispensary
Gwalior 474001
Directions - OPD hours
- Monday to Saturday
12:30–2:30 pm, 5:30–6:30 pm
Closed Sunday - In an emergency
- Do not use this site. Call 108 for an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency department.