Is there a finger test that can detect heart disease? Part 2

The endopat is widely available in the office of many doctors. So the question is, “does it work?”

Well, the test is new and it is marketed heavily because it makes a lot of money for the doctors. The test cannot image your heart and no one knows for sure if the changes in the finger are the same as those in your heart.

More important, the test is not covered by most insurance or Medicare plans. When a test is not covered by Medicare, you can usually assume that it has more to do with profits for doctors .  In short, this is just another bogus test which has no practical application. One can tell easily that you are at high risk for heart disease just based on the history. One does not need an expensive finger test to tell a person to start walking or stop smoking.

Common sense indicates that people who live healthy, usually do not develop medical problems.

Save your money by avoiding this BS test and learn to live healthy. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, change your lifestyle, stop smoking, start walking, and eat a healthy diet with low fat. This is one piece of advice which does not require an EndoPAT test.

Is there a finger test that can detect heart disease? Part 1

Yes, there is. It is called the EndoPAT and is not worth it. The test was designed by researchers at Mayo Clinic and it is also known as the endothelial peripheral arterial tomography test. The device is applied on the fingertip and it can painlessly measure the health status of your blood vessels. The device prints out a few numbers, which can predict your heart's outlook. The device has fine sensors that can monitor flow of blood in your arms and fingers.

In simple, the Endopat sensors are placed on both the right and left index fingers. Then a blood pressure cuff is applied on one of the arms. When the cuff is inflated, the blood flow to that arm is stopped and the sensor will show no flow. At the same, the sensor on the opposite index finger will display your normal blood flow. After a few minutes, the blood pressure cuff is released and allows blood flow back to the hand. If the finger sensor on the affected arm shows normal rush of flow, then the vessels are working fine. IF the flow is sluggish then your vessels are unhealthy.

The endopat works on the idea that the arteries in your heart also react to stress in the same way as your arms. If the flow to your finger is sluggish then the flow to your heart vessel is also sluggish. In addition, this leads to a diagnosis of atherosclerosis and one can take preventive measures.

The aim of the test is to identify people who have early atherosclerosis. This test may be applicable for diabetics, people who smoke or those who have high blood pressure. This finger test can tell when the vessels are getting stiff and one can adopt a healthy life style much early on.

Can I take a vitamin to prevent a heart attack or chest pain?

Unfortunately there is no evidence which shows that vitamins can either prevent or treat a heart attack. There are many alternative health care practitioners who recommend mega doses of vitamins for every medical disorder underneath the sun. However, there is not one scientific study which has shown that vitamins can cure or prevent a heart attack. Moreover, if you start mucking around with chest pain at home and treat it with vitamins, you may end up dead.

Vitamins may be taken as a health supplement for overall health but are not a substitute for traditional treatments for a heart attack. Laboratory studies have shown that vitamin C and E can lower bad cholesterol and reduce fat build up in blood vessels. However, no human study has shown that vitamins alone can prevent a heart attack. The risk factors for heart disease are obesity, high cholesterol, uncontrolled high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise. No one has even shown that lack of any vitamin can cause a heart attack.

Why vitamins are recommended for treatment of heart attacks in the first place is a mystery. For all consumers, if you have no documented deficiency of vitamins than there is no need to take any supplements.

Even if you have a deficiency of a vitamin, which is preferable- decent juicy fresh fruits and vegetables or a cardboard pill made from the Orient which may be a fake or contain contaminants?

If you have chest pain, stop fooling around with vitamins- take whatever heart pill your doctor recommended.