Maintaining heart health is an essential step to keep the body fit and prevent serious diseases. One of the most common questions people ask is how to check their heart health — whether independently or through medical examinations.
By getting checked early, you can detect the early signs of heart disease and take the right action before the condition worsens.
This article discusses the importance of checking your heart health, simple methods you can do at home, and recommended medical examinations.
The heart is a vital organ in the cardiovascular system. Its main function is to pump blood throughout the body and return it to the lungs for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange.
If the heart’s function is disrupted, the blood supply to other organs will also be affected, impacting overall health. Therefore, maintaining heart health means maintaining your quality of life.
In Indonesia, heart and blood vessel diseases remain one of the leading causes of death. According to the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) data, the prevalence of coronary heart disease reached around 1.5%.
Several risk factors are closely related to heart disease, including smoking habits, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, obesity, and an unhealthy lifestyle with little physical activity.
People with these risk factors should be aware of heart disease early by having regular health checkups.
One simple way to monitor your heart condition is by checking your pulse. Place your index and middle fingers on your wrist or neck, count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by four to get your heart rate per minute.
The normal resting heart rate for adults is 60–100 beats per minute. If your heartbeat is too fast, too slow, or irregular, it’s best to seek further examination.
In addition to self-checks, you can take advantage of heart checkup services at hospitals or clinics. These services usually include measuring blood pressure and heart rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram (heart ultrasound), exercise stress test, cardiac CT scan, cardiac catheterization, and even cardiac MRI — which is still rarely available in Indonesia.
These examinations not only help detect heart disease early but also monitor conditions in individuals with risk factors mentioned above.
If your self-check indicates irregularities, or if you have risk factors or a family history of heart disease, further medical tests are highly recommended. Common diagnostic methods include:
An ECG records the heart’s electrical activity using electrodes placed on the skin. It effectively detects irregular heart rhythms, signs of a heart attack, and other abnormalities. The procedure is quick, safe, and painless.
An echocardiogram uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the heart’s structure and assess its function. It helps identify valve problems, congenital defects, and blood flow patterns. The results assist doctors in diagnosing and determining the appropriate treatment.
Blood tests are important to measure cholesterol, blood sugar, and other markers related to heart disease risk.
Cardiac stress tests — such as treadmill or dobutamine stress echocardiography — evaluate how the heart performs under stress, revealing issues that might not appear when the heart is at rest.
A cardiac CT scan provides accurate assessment of coronary artery blockages and calcium/plaque buildup, which helps determine a person’s risk of coronary heart disease.
With the latest Somatom Force 1152-slice dual-source CT scanner at National Hospital, cardiac CT angiography can now be performed more easily, without special heart rate control preparation, with lower radiation doses and exceptional image resolution.
This examination, which is still relatively rare in Indonesia, provides detailed imaging of the heart’s size, structure, and muscle condition. It can detect heart muscle abnormalities, scarring, or progressive damage, enabling more accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment for patients with heart disease.
For patients with simple or complex coronary artery blockages — including emergency cases such as heart attacks — cardiac catheterization allows accurate diagnosis and non-surgical (minimally invasive) treatment.
Procedures such as stent placement, complex intravascular imaging (IVUS), and even plaque drilling can all be performed comprehensively at the National Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.
Regular heart checkups are crucial to maintaining your overall health.
From simple self-checks like measuring your pulse to complete medical evaluations such as ECG, echocardiogram, blood tests, cardiac stress tests, CT scans, MRI, and catheterization — all help detect and manage heart disease early.
For more accurate and comprehensive results, you can undergo heart examinations at National Hospital, which provides advanced cardiac health services supported by expert medical teams and modern technology.
With routine checkups at National Hospital, you can detect risks early, receive proper treatment, and maintain your heart health at its best.
info@national-hospital.com
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