re: What's the best test to see how healthy your heart is?

My mom had bypass when she was 48, and we have a history of heart issues in my family. I just went at the beginning of the year to her cardiologist here in Houston to get checked up since I'm 45, and have a 2 year old daughter. He did blood work and a stress test to get a baseline of where I am. All tests came back great, but I would eventually like to get the Heart scan, like someone mentioned here also.

My maternal grandfather died of an aneurysm. I have heart disease in my family, both sides. My fraternal grandfather had glaucoma. I'm pretty much fricked.

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he's 5'11" and weighs under 150 pounds

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That's cute

The ultra sound is the best test you can get. Get them to check you neck and arms as well.
My wife does those ultrasounds and I get it done every year, because it's free. It's really cool to see your heart beating on a monitor.

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Read his posts. Iron deficiency, he has body dysmorphic disorder which has caused him to not eat enough (he's 5'11" and weighs under 150 pounds), and now this. He has mental issues that he's not addressing. He needs help.

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All of this. I've begun to look forward to his quarterly anxiety attacks.

Gold Starndard is a heart catheterization. But that's damned invasive. Not going to do that without cause.

I wonder what any MDs or cardiologists (gotta have one on here) think of heart scans? Very detailed CT scan that to my understanding can see plaque?

How diagnostic are they?

They seemed to be talked about quite a bit. But that was mid 2000's. Not so much anymore. This is the Houston area.

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a little obsessed

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I think that is an understatement.

Man, you need to put some weight on, or better, see a doctor.

I had a 3D CT scan done earlier this summer and it turned out that I have heart disease and the test confirmed it. The heart scan was ordered because of a failed stress test.

Your insurance will NOT cover this procedure but if you want to really know about your heart this test is very good.

Walk into emergency room and tell them you have shortness of breath and pain in Heart radiating toward and down left arm.

Over the next day or two or four they will do (Probably in this order):

1 - EKG, BP, chest sounds, Blood Oxygen monitoring
2 - Full Cardio enzyme and heart panel work-up (several blood tests beginning immediately and then over a several day period)
3 - Full Cholesterol blood work LDL & HDL (probably a full lipid profile)
4 - Basic Metabolic Panel - blood sugar, etc.
5 - Full time EKG, BP, Pulse Blood Oxygen level and Respiration monitoring over the several days you are there.
6 - Stress test either on treadmill or nuclear or both.
7 - Heart Cath - to see if there is any blockage and possibility of relief through stent placement
8 - Chest X-ray
9 - CAT Scan - Maybe an MRI on heart and Carotid arteries
10 - Maybe an echocardiogram and possibly a Transesophageal Echo Cardiogram (TEE)
11 - Maybe a Fluoroscopy of your heart
12 - Possibly an implanted heart monitor (a loop recorder - not a pacemaker, or at least not yet).
13 - A sleep apnea test scheduled for later, with almost certainly a Darth Vader breathing machine prescribed afterwards.

Surely I forget some of the things they will do. I have had all of these, followed by a Mitral valve replacement and a pacemaker. Now, we do all of these maybe once a year. Lots of fun.

You could always go with the alternative approach:
hookers and blow.