Generally, a primary care doctor will screen your risk factors for developing a heart attack and regularly schedule physical exams that will identify if you have any heart attack symptoms. In an emergency situation, however, doctors will perform a variety of tests to identify and confirm if you are having a heart attack. These tests include :

• Electrocardiogram (ECG): This test is often the first test performed to diagnose a heart attack. It is performed by measuring the electrical activity of your heart via electrodes attached to the skin. If you have had a heart attack, your heart will not beat properly, and therefore will not conduct electrical impulses properly, which the ECG can detect. Overall, this test measures whether your heart is beating properly, which will not happen during or after a heart attack.

• Blood tests: In the case of a heart attack, certain heart proteins begin to leak into the blood. These proteins can be detected via a simple blood tests, and can suggest whether you may have or are having a heart attack.

• Chest X-ray : A chest X-ray is an image the doctor uses to examine the size of your heart and blood vessels. It can also be used to check for fluid in the lungs. During a heart attack the size of your heart and blood vessels will appear abnormal, and fluid can collect in the lungs.

• Echocardiogram: An echocardiogram is performed by directing sound waves to the heart through a wand like device called a transducer. The transducer is held on the chest, and the sound waves can bounce off the heart and provide the doctors with an electronic image of your heart. An echocardiogram can identify if a particular area of the heart is damaged and if it is not pumping properly.

• Coronary catheterization (angiogram) : An angiogram is performed by injecting a liquid dye into the heart’s arteries. The dye is injected using a long, thin tube, called a catheter, into the leg or groin, which carries the dye to the heart. This dye allows for the arteries to be visible on an X-ray, and can reveal where a blockage has occurred

• CT Scan or MRI : A CT scan and MRI both work by visualizing the heart and its arteries, which allow the doctors to obtain an image of your heart. This image allows doctors to identify where the damage or blockage has occurred.

• Exercise stress test : An exercise stress test is performed by having the patient walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike while attached to an ECG. This test will not be performed during an emergency, but instead performed days or weeks after the heart attack. This test can measure how well your heart is healing from an attack.

Your doctor may perform any combination of the above-mentioned tests. Once these tests are performed, your doctor will be able to characterize how severe the heart attack was. The severity of heart attacks is divided into two categories: a complete blockage and a partial blockage.

• A complete blockage means that the heart attack was caused from a blockage the completely blocked the use of one or more arteries. This type of heart attack is sometimes called a STEMI heart attack, which stands for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

• A partial blockage means that one or more arteries was only partially blocked. This type of heart attack is sometimes called a NSTEMI, which stands for a Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.