Diagnostic tests for myocardial ischemia include: resting, exercise, or ambulatory electrocardiograms; scintigraphic studies (radioactive heart scans); echocardiography; coronary angiography; and, rarely, positron emission tomography. Diagnostic tests for TIA include physician review of symptoms, computed tomography scans (CT scans), carotid artery ultrasound (Doppler ultrasonography), and magnetic resonance imaging. Angiography is the best test for ischemia of any organ.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) shows the heart's activity and may reveal a lack of oxygen. Electrodes covered with conducting jelly are placed on the patient's chest, arms, and legs. Impulses of the heart's activity are recorded on paper. The test takes about 10 minutes and is performed in a physician's office. About 25% of patients with angina have normal electrocardiograms. Another type of electrocardiogram, the exercise stress test, measures response to exertion when the patient is exercising on a treadmill or a stationary bike. It is performed in a physician's office or an exercise laboratory and takes 15 to 30 minutes. This test is more accurate than a resting ECG in diagnosing ischemia. Sometimes an ambulatory ECG is ordered. For this test, the patient wears a portable ECG machine called a Holter monitor for 12, 24, or 48 hours.

Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and radionuclide angiography are nuclear studies involving the injection of a radioactive material (e.g., thallium) which is absorbed by healthy tissue. A gamma scintillation camera displays and records a series of images of the radioactive material's movement through the heart. Both tests are usually performed in a hospital's nuclear medicine department and take about 30 minutes to an hour. A perfusion scan is sometimes performed at the end of a stress test.

An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create an image of the heart's chambers and valves. The technician applies gel to a hand-held transducer then presses it against the patient's chest. The heart's sound waves are converted into an image on a monitor. Performed in a cardiology outpatient diagnostic laboratory, the test takes 30 minutes to an hour. It can reveal abnormalities in the heart wall that indicate ischemia, but it doesn't evaluate the coronary arteries directly.

Coronary angiography is the most accurate diagnostic technique, but it is also the most invasive. It shows the heart's chambers, great vessels, and coronary arteries by using a contrast solution and x ray technology. A moving picture is recorded of the blood flow through the coronary arteries. The patient is awake, but sedated, and connected to ECG electrodes and an intravenous line. A local anesthetic is injected. The cardiologist then inserts a catheter into a blood vessel and guides it into the heart. Coronary angiography is performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory and takes from half an hour to two hours.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive nuclear test used to evaluate the heart tissue. A PET scanner traces high-energy gamma rays released from radioactive particles to provide three-dimensional images of the heart tissue. Performed at a hospital, it usually takes from one hour to one hour and 45 minutes. PET is very expensive and not widely available.

Computed tomography scans (CT scans) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are computerized scanning methods. CT scanning uses a thin x-ray beam to show three-dimensional views of soft tissues. It is performed at a hospital or clinic and takes less than a minute. MRI uses a magnetic field to produce clear, cross-sectional images of soft tissues. The patient lies on a table which slides into a tunnel-like scanner. It is usually performed at a hospital and takes about 30 minutes.