A general cardiovascular check-up plays a crucial role in the early detection of cardiovascular risks and warning signs that patients may be experiencing. Early diagnosis not only effectively supports the treatment process but also helps doctors develop personalized treatment methods. This gives patients the opportunity to significantly improve their condition and limit dangerous complications in the future.
So, what does a general cardiovascular check-up involve? And how is the cardiovascular examination process carried out? Let’s find out in detail to proactively protect your cardiovascular health starting today.
Cardiovascular Clinical Examination
In every medical examination and treatment process, a cardiovascular clinical examination is always an indispensable first step. This process helps doctors identify abnormal symptoms, determine risk factors for illness, and then order appropriate paraclinical tests to establish a definitive diagnosis.
Steps in the Cardiovascular Clinical Examination Process:
Patient approach: The doctor will collect basic information such as age, personal and family medical history, occupation, living environment, current medications, alcohol and smoking habits, etc. These are factors directly affecting the patient’s cardiovascular condition.
The physical examination process includes observation, palpation, percussion, and auscultation techniques to specifically assess heart activity, heart function, and the vascular system.
Measuring vital signs: including pulse rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and respiratory rate – these indicators reflect the patient’s overall systemic condition.
Palpating the pulse: assessing vascular wall elasticity, pulse amplitude, and pulse characteristics (regular or irregular).
Auscultating the heart: determining heart rhythm (regular or irregular), detecting abnormal murmurs, and pericardial rubs – typical signs of heart disease.
Cardiovascular Clinical Examination
Observing veins: detecting signs of varicose veins and peripheral phlebitis. Specifically, jugular venous confluence, prominent and distended jugular veins are often associated with heart failure, cardiac tamponade, or volume overload.
Chest examination: The doctor will check the chest structure to detect deformities such as pectus carinatum (pigeon chest) or pectus excavatum (funnel chest). At the same time, palpating the apex of the heart helps assess myocardial hypertrophy and detect thrills.
Lung examination: Includes palpation, percussion, and auscultation of the lungs. This helps the doctor detect pleural effusion, pulmonary edema due to heart failure, as well as hear lung crackles – important clues for underlying cardiovascular diseases. Abdominal and limb examination: Signs such as ascites and lower limb edema can also be manifestations of heart disease. Therefore, this is an indispensable part of a cardiovascular clinical examination.
When the doctor performs the examination steps, you need to proactively describe any discomfort or symptoms you are experiencing clearly. This is an important basis for the doctor to make a preliminary diagnosis and then develop an appropriate treatment plan.
Ordering Paraclinical Tests in Cardiovascular Diagnosis
Cardiovascular tests and paraclinical diagnostic methods play a crucial role in assessing cardiovascular activity and checking cardiovascular function. Depending on clinical manifestations and the diagnostic direction, the doctor may order one or more appropriate tests, including:
Cardiovascular Blood Tests
Cardiovascular blood tests help determine the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, while also assessing liver and kidney function. In cases of suspected myocardial ischemia or myocardial infarction, the doctor will order cardiac enzyme measurement – an important indicator to determine the extent of myocardial damage.
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a method that records the electrical activity of the heart, helping to detect abnormal heart rhythms, arrhythmias, and damage related to the heart muscle. ECG is often indicated in cases such as:
Pericardial damage, reactions due to cardiovascular drug toxicity
Monitoring pacemaker activity
Symptoms such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, palpitations, angina, shortness of breath…
Echocardiography
Echocardiography allows direct observation of the heart’s structure and movement, often used to detect valvular heart disease, valvular infections, chamber abnormalities, and myocardial diseases.
Chest X-ray (Heart and Lungs)
A chest X-ray (heart and lungs) provides an overview of the heart’s structure, lung structure, ribs, and chest cavity. This technique helps detect cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases, and abnormalities in the chest area.
Coronary Angiography
This technique uses X-rays to visualize the coronary arteries, helping to detect coronary abnormalities, assess the extent of coronary damage, and identify coronary artery blockages or narrowing. This method is considered the gold standard in diagnosing coronary artery disease.
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Cardiac MRI)
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Cardiac MRI)
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Cardiac MRI) is a non-invasive, X-ray-free test that offers high accuracy in imaging the heart and systemic blood vessels. Cardiac MRI is particularly effective in detecting congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiac tumors, and many other conditions related to cardiovascular function.
Interpreting Cardiovascular Examination Results After Completing the Check-up Process
After completing the cardiovascular examination and receiving all cardiovascular examination results as well as relevant paraclinical indicators, the specialist doctor will provide a comprehensive assessment of your current cardiovascular condition, including:
Do you have cardiovascular disease?
If so, what kind of cardiovascular disease is it?
What stage is the cardiovascular damage at, and how does it affect the body?
The doctor will propose an appropriate treatment method: from dietary changes, adopting healthy lifestyle habits, to medication or, if necessary, surgical intervention to improve the condition and prevent future complications.
To protect long-term cardiovascular health, you should have a regular health check-up every 6 months. For those with a history of heart disease or existing risk factors, the frequency of examinations needs to be higher to effectively detect and control the risk of heart disease early.
Warning Signs of Cardiovascular Disease Not to Be Ignored
If not treated early, cardiovascular diseases will progress to become increasingly severe, harboring many dangerous complications and potentially threatening the patient’s life. Therefore, seeking an examination immediately upon noticing warning signs is crucial for early detection, improving treatment effectiveness, and preventing serious consequences.
Some warning symptoms of cardiovascular disease you should be aware of include:
Shortness of breath: Often appears with exertion, when lying down, or at night, causing prolonged fatigue. Chest pain: Can be dull or episodic, ranging from mild to severe; the pain may radiate to the shoulder blade, arm, neck, or back. Arrhythmia: Manifests as a fast heart rate, slow heart rate, or irregular heartbeat. Palpitations: A clear sensation of a strong and fast heartbeat, especially at rest. Swelling (edema): Appears in various parts of the body, especially the legs and ankles, due to inefficient heart pumping. Dizziness, fainting: Signs indicating insufficient blood flow to the brain, warning of the risk of heart failure or severe arrhythmias. Cyanosis of skin and mucous membranes: Lips, hands, and feet may turn purple, even the entire body after exertion – a sign of low oxygen in the blood. Increased blood pressure: A risk factor and also an early manifestation of cardiovascular disease.
Why is Cardiovascular Health Screening Crucial for Heart Disease Prevention?
According to statistics, every 2 seconds, the world records a death due to cardiovascular disease. For myocardial infarction, this figure is 5 seconds, and 6 seconds for stroke-related deaths. These numbers are enough to alert us to the seriousness of cardiovascular disease and the urgency of regular cardiovascular health check-ups.
The early stages of cardiovascular disease often have no clear or infrequent symptoms. This leads many people to be complacent and ignore warning signs. Only when the disease has progressed severely, affecting daily activities, do patients seek medical attention. However, delays in examination and treatment are the main reason why the disease becomes more dangerous, difficult to treat, less effective, and can even lead to life-threatening complications.
It’s not just the elderly; young people are also facing an increasing risk of cardiovascular disease. Unscientific lifestyles, stimulant use, prolonged stress, frequent late nights, lack of physical activity, and unbalanced diets are factors that lead many people, some as young as 30-35 years old, or even under 30, to suffer myocardial infarction leading to death.
Don’t be complacent if you experience unusual symptoms
When to See a Cardiovascular Specialist?
Seeing a cardiovascular specialist plays an important role in the early detection and effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Here are the times when you should consult a specialist for an accurate diagnosis and timely management:
If You Have Been Diagnosed with Heart Disease or Have Cardiovascular Risk Factors
If you have been identified by a doctor as having cardiovascular risk factors or are currently being treated for cardiovascular diseases, regular follow-ups with a specialist are essential. Based on heart disease symptoms, the doctor will order appropriate medical tests to accurately assess your current cardiovascular condition and formulate an effective treatment plan.
When Symptoms Suggesting Cardiovascular Disease Appear
Don’t be complacent if you experience unusual symptoms such as:
Chest pain, shortness of breath,
Dizziness, irregular heartbeat,
Palpitations, sudden vision loss,
or fainting.
These heart disease symptoms can signal serious heart problems. A specialist examination will help determine if you have any cardiovascular abnormalities, leading to accurate and timely management.
Regular Cardiovascular Check-ups if You Have Heart Disease Risk Factors
Don’t wait until obvious symptoms appear before seeking medical attention. If you belong to a group with heart disease risk factors, proactively undergo regular cardiovascular check-ups for early prevention. These factors include:
Unscientific diet
Frequent late nights
Excessive stress
Overweight, obesity
Hypertension
Diabetes
Dyslipidemia
Family history of heart disease.
Cardiovascular Diseases Are Often Detected Through Comprehensive Examinations and Specialized Tests
Many cardiovascular diseases have a silent progression, with no clear symptoms in the early stages. Only when patients undergo cardiovascular examinations, combined with cardiovascular tests and cardiac imaging diagnostics, can underlying problems be accurately detected. Some common conditions include:
Coronary artery disease
Valvular heart disease such as valvular stenosis, valvular insufficiency
Cardiomyopathy: including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy
Aortic diseases: including aortic dilatation, aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection
Congenital heart disease, heart failure, cardiac tumors, etc.
Therefore, people should proactively undergo regular cardiovascular health check-ups, especially when experiencing unusual symptoms suggesting heart disease such as chest pain, prolonged fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, etc. Early examination by a specialist helps detect diseases promptly, increasing the likelihood of effective treatment and comprehensive cardiovascular health protection.
The cost of cardiovascular screening at each medical facility may vary, depending on medical equipment and machinery.
How Much Does Cardiovascular Screening Cost?
Regular cardiovascular screening is an effective solution to detect early risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This allows patients to prevent cardiovascular disease, intervene and treat cardiovascular disease promptly, reducing cardiovascular complications and future financial burdens.
The cost of cardiovascular screening at each medical facility may vary, depending on medical equipment, machinery, facilities, and service quality. Below is the latest updated price list for cardiovascular screening at some hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, with attractive preferential prices compared to the original prices:
Cardiovascular Check-up Package
Cost (VND)
General Cardiovascular Check-up Package
4,102,200 VND (10% off original price 4,558,000 VND)
Hypertension Screening Package
4,054,500 VND (10% off original price 4,505,000 VND)
Coronary Artery Disease Screening Package (basic to advanced)
4,930,200 – 8,494,200 VND (10% off original price 5,478,000 – 9,438,000 VND)
3,955,500 VND (10% off original price 4,395,000 VND)
Peripheral Vascular Disease Screening Package
4,988,700 VND (10% off original price 5,543,000 VND)
Congenital Heart Disease Screening Package
859,500 – 2,947,500 VND (10% off original price 955,000 – 3,275,000 VND)
Valvular Heart Disease Screening Package
3,658,500 VND (10% off original price 4,065,000 VND)
Important Notes Before and After a Cardiovascular Check-up You Shouldn’t Overlook
Regular cardiovascular check-ups are an important step for early detection and effective prevention of cardiovascular disease. To ensure a smooth examination process and accurate results, patients need to prepare thoroughly beforehand and follow post-examination instructions.
What to Note Before a Cardiovascular Check-up?
To ensure accurate blood test results and diagnosis, patients should:
Fast for at least 4 hours before the examination, especially if blood tests are scheduled.
Bring medical records from the last 6 months, including prescriptions, test results, or diagnoses related to any cardiovascular symptoms previously experienced.
Note down or remember current cardiovascular symptoms and a list of cardiovascular medications you are taking to provide to the doctor.
Avoid stimulants such as alcohol, beer, coffee, and tobacco before the examination as they can affect the results.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing to facilitate necessary clinical examinations.
What to Do After a Cardiovascular Check-up?
After completing the examination, depending on the doctor’s assessment results:
If diagnosed with severe cardiovascular disease requiring medical intervention, promptly contact family members for assistance with hospital admission and treatment.
If prescribed cardiovascular medication or advised to make healthy lifestyle changes, patients must fully adhere to the instructions to improve their cardiovascular condition.
Don’t forget regular follow-up appointments for the doctor to monitor disease progression and detect any early cardiovascular abnormalities.
In addition to high-risk individuals, healthy people also need to adopt a healthy lifestyle to protect their long-term health. Regular exercise, combined with a balanced diet and adequate rest, plays a crucial role in limiting the development of chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, it is essential to avoid stimulants such as alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco, and minimize nervous stress – silent factors that increase the risk of illness.
Especially, if you or a family member experiences any unusual symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, rapid or irregular heartbeat, etc., seek timely medical attention at a reputable healthcare facility for a specialized cardiovascular check-up. Early detection and intervention by specialists will help enhance treatment effectiveness and minimize dangerous complications in the future.
