Diagnostic Tools Blogs

A new smartphone app functions as an ECG machine, remotely transmitting a live ECG—or even an echocardiogram slice—to a medical care provider, fast-tracking treatment. But this technology can have serious downsides.

New smartphone apps help to track vital signs, such as your heart rate and blood pressure readings. Here’s my take on them and the dangers of Wi-Fi exposure from cellular phones.

Many doctors, including cardiologists, look at all the wrong numbers when it comes to cholesterol. If your cholesterol is over 220 mg/dl they get worried—if it’s over 300 mg/dl they panic. Then, they put you on statin drugs. Here's what your doctor should be measuring...

Last month, a colleague told me her 72-year-old dad was getting a pacemaker. It came as a shock, since he was fit, spry, and an avid cyclist. But after he got the pacemaker, he realized how much his heart was struggling. Could you need a pacemaker?

Find out why Dr. Sinatra doesn't recommend an aspirin for primary prevention of heart disease.

Inflammation is a significant predictor of heart disease—far more accurate than cholesterol levels, and a factor underlying most other diseases as well. Here's how you can find out if it's a problem for you.

The basic electrocardiographic (ECG, or EKG from the German for “kardio”) representation of the heart beat is an important diagnostic tool in cardiology. It’s made up of several parts: the P wave, the PR interval, the Q wave, the QRS complex, the T wave, and the QT interval.

The VAP test—short for vertical auto profile—is a comprehensive lipid test. 

As part of my Heart Health Awareness Campaign in celebration of American Heart Month, I’d like to focus for a moment on those critical tests you need to evaluate your personal risk for heart disease.

Fibrinogen is a coagulation-type protein that determines the stickiness of your blood. 

Two cholesterol tests to ask your doctor about.

High cholesterol is a signal that you should have a more sophisticated blood test that will measure the various subtypes of your LDL and HDL, and tell you whether your cholesterol warrants attention or is merely elevated.

How to improve ejection fraction.