There are many ways to detect and diagnose patients with CVD and atherosclerosis. Risk of obtaining atherosclerosis can be identified by testing blood, the function of the endothelium, and inflammatory mediators. One of the first ways to test for atherosclerosis is to begin testing a patient’s cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and HDL levels. If any of these numbers are higher than normal then further testing is needed for not only atherosclerosis, but for other disease such as diabetes mellitus or liver disease. Since obesity is associated with atherosclerosis, the body mass index of the patient should be taken as well. Another set of tests include testing the endothelial function. There are invasive and non-invasive tests that can be done to …show more content…
A catheter is placed in a patient’s leg or arm and travel to the heart. Once the catheter is placed correctly, acetylcholine is released into the arteries and if vasodilation does not occur or if vasoconstriction occurs, then the presence of atherosclerosis is positive. Another test that can be done is to test a patient’s CRP levels. C-reactive protein is released in the body when inflammation occurs within the body, therefore, if there is high levels of CRP then there is an increased risk of atherosclerosis. Since calcium salt build-up adds to the acceleration of atherosclerosis, a calcium CT scan is used to see if calcium is present in the blood vessels. One of the most widely used tests for atherosclerosis is a cardiac angiography. This is done by doing a catheterization procedure and utilizing x-rays to look at the blood vessels as a liquid dye is injected into the blood vessels. This can determine where the blockage is and if the treatment should be a CABG surgery or a PCI surgery. The last and most detailed test is the intravascular ultrasonography. This test also uses catheters and allows for images of the arteries to be