许多医学研究者相信防止心脏病死亡的唯一方法在于预防。倘若不能这样做,最好是设计在心脏病一旦出现时所能采用的有效治疗方法。在某些病例中,外科手术可修补先天性损害或由于风湿热引起的损害。对于动脉粥样硬化性心脏病,外科或药物治疗保存了将死亡而仍存活的心肌区,可限制损害的范围。但是,在治疗方法能被应用或评价之前,必须回答某些问题:病人的症状是否由心脏病所致?如果是,那么损伤的范围和部位怎么样?损害对心脏功能有怎样影响?疗法是否确可限制损害的范围? 要回答这些问题,必需有安全、正确和可靠的检测损害的技术。现在,内科医生倾向于信赖胸部X线,心电图和对比性血管造影。胸部X线可指明心脏有多大,以及提供估计心脏功能的方法。例如,X线可发现由于充血性心力衰竭引起的肺水肿。心电图往往提供非特异性资 Many medical researchers believe that the only way to prevent death from heart disease is to prevent it. If this is not possible, it is best to design effective treatments that can be used in the event of a heart attack. In some cases, surgery can repair congenital damage or damage due to rheumatic fever. For atherosclerotic heart disease, surgical or medical treatment preserves the area of ​​the myocardium that will die while surviving, limiting the extent of the damage. However, certain questions must be answered before the treatment can be applied or evaluated: Does the patient’s symptoms be caused by a heart attack? If yes, what is the extent and location of the damage? How does the damage affect heart function? Can indeed limit the scope of damage? To answer these questions, there must be safe, correct and reliable techniques for detecting damage. Physicians now tend to trust chest X-rays, electrocardiograms, and contrast angiography. Chest X-ray can indicate how big the heart, and provide estimates of cardiac function. For example, X-rays can detect pulmonary edema due to congestive heart failure. Electrocardiograms often provide non-specific information