Q: I had intermittent substernal pain two years back. I went to a cardiologist and my treadmill test was borderline positive. The doctor said that it was mainly due to tension and gave me Clopitab, Betaloc and Ramilace. I have been taking these medicines for the past two years. Now, I want to know if there will be any side effects due to these medicines? Is there any other way of treatment apart from these medicines? I become tense if I don't take these medicines. So what can I do for it? I came to know that this pain could be due to a clot in blood vessel to heart. If so, what would be the best procedure to rule out the clot? I want to know the non-invasive procedures that would help me rule out the clot? Would a CT scan be of any use for this purpose?

A:Several non-invasive tests can be done to screen for the presence of blockage in the blood vessels of the heart, these include: The treadmill test, Stress echocardiography, Thallium Perfusion Scan and multi-slice CT. Angiography continues to be the gold standard test, the decision to have angiography is based on the clinical picture and the results of non-invasive evaluation. The drugs prescribed are fairly safe for long-term use, but monitoring is required for regulating dosage and detecting adverse effects.