Heart muscle disease

[john2live]

Just wondering, what test do i take to check for heart muscle disease or to see if there is something wrong with the heart muscles that causes palps

thanks

[is_something_wrong]

An EKG, an echo and a stress test will rule out most of the heart muscle diseases if normal. There are a lot of heart muscle diseases where most of them are ruled out after a normal echo (ultrasound of the heart).

ARVD (as mentioned by itdood) is a special form of cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease). It is diagnosed after special criteria which include a lot of testing and history. A normal echo and a normal EKG will rule the condition out by a fairly high certainty (and keep in mind, this is a RARE disorder) but if your doctor suspects it, MRI or biopsy are better tests, as itdood said.

[itdood]

echo as mentioned can measure thickness and movement issues.  MRI is better and the standard for testing ARVD.  Biopsy is also an option for ARVD.

[MichelleP_3811]

I would think an echo would give a visual on how the heart is expanding and contracting.  If there are other tests I am sure someone will chime in.