Medical Tests & Procedures Archive

Getting an electrocardiogram (ECG) prior to undergoing noncardiac surgery should be the exception rather than the rule. About half of surgeries are low-risk and pose very little danger for the heart. Asking about a person's symptoms during physical activity—for example, whether they can walk up a flight of stairs without feeling winded—is a better gauge of their risk than the findings from an ECG. But presurgical ECGs make sense for older, inactive people with heart disease. The results can reveal signs of reduced blood flow to the heart or an unstable electrical heart rhythm that may require treatment before surgery.

Abnormal Pap test results don't always indicate cervical cancer. Most abnormal findings result from the presence of human papillomavirus, or HPV. Typically, the next step is a colposcopy, a test that enables the doctor to look closely at areas that appear abnormal.

Online hearing tests help detect if someone has hearing loss. The tests involve answering questions or listening to a series of tones or spoken words. The tests are not as comprehensive as tests conducted by an audiologist, but they are convenient and might help identify mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss; problems hearing particular pitch ranges; or differences in hearing ability in one ear compared to the other (asymmetry). A test might need to be followed up with a visit to an audiologist.

Just because you can get a particular test or treatment or take a supplement doesn't mean you should. One study suggests as much as 20% of all health care in the US is unneeded. Skipping unnecessary care might actually improve your health, while saving time and money.

A 2024 study found that a urine test that looks for cancer genes may help identify the most serious cases of prostate cancer among men with high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). This could help many men with high PSA levels avoid biopsies.

While cigarette smoking remains the biggest cause of lung cancer, between 15% and 25% of cases globally occur in people who have never smoked. Lung cancer claims more women's lives than breast and ovarian cancer combined. Risk factors among nonsmokers include age, family history, chronic lung conditions, and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, radon, diesel fumes, air pollution, and asbestos. People concerned about their risks should discuss it with their doctor, reduce exposure to lung cancer contributors, and get involved in advocacy efforts.

The American Heart Association's first-ever scientific statement on artificial intelligence (A.I.) in cardiology explores how the technology may improve how doctors prevent, detect, and treat heart disease. For example, A.I. data from patch monitors may predict who will develop potentially serious heart rhythms. Applying A.I. tools to a single chest x-ray may predict a person's risk of heart attack and other serious health problems.

Artificial intelligence, or A.I., has been used in women's health care for decades. A.I. helps detect and track breast cancer, endometriosis, fibroids, cervical precancers, and other conditions. A.I.-driven mammography software may reveal more breast cancers than radiologists detect alone. A.I. may soon streamline women's breast cancer risk assessment scores to aid screening. Experts once predicted that A.I. would replace radiologists, but that hasn't happened and isn't likely, according to Harvard specialists.

A 2024 study found that people with high blood sugar and high triglycerides are more likely to develop chronic stress, anxiety, or depression later in life, compared with people who have low or normal blood sugar levels.

Screening methods for colorectal cancer continue to evolve. Stool tests are becoming more accurate, and it appears that an experimental blood test might one day provide another effective screening option. The most accurate colorectal cancer screening is a colonoscopy, which allows a doctor to peer inside the colon and rectum, find cancers, and remove potentially precancerous polyps on the spot to prevent future cancer. It's unclear if a stool or blood test will ever be as good for screening as a colonoscopy.