Support
Being diagnosed, or living with a heart or circulatory condition can be overwhelming, but we're here to help.
What can a chest X-ray diagnose?
If you have symptoms such as feeling short of breath, a chest X-ray can help doctors find out if it’s caused by a heart or lung condition or something else.
You would have a chest X-ray done as part of routine work up for heart surgery.
If your doctor thinks you may have a heart condition, they will arrange for you to have other tests too.
Here's what a normal chest X-ray would look like.
What happens during a chest X-ray?
You will be asked to remove your clothes down to your waist, put on a hospital gown and remove jewellery.
You will stand against a photographic plate and the radiographer, the health professional who takes the X-rays, will ask you to take a deep breath and hold it (this helps to improve the quality of the X-ray image). Once they have taken the X-ray they will ask you to breathe normally again.
You may have chest X-rays taken from different angles, but they only take a few seconds each time and the whole process usually takes a few minutes. The radiographer will check the images before you leave and tell you when the results will be available to your doctor.
Having a chest X-ray is painless, although the photographic plate is a bit cold and hard.
If you’re worried about having an X-ray, speak to your healthcare professional. Even though X-rays expose you to radiation, it is at a very low level, and it lasts for a fraction of a second. It has less than a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of causing cancer.
If you are pregnant or think you might be, make sure you tell your doctor.
Get support
If you have questions about heart tests or want someone to speak to, call our cardiac nurses.
You can trust our health information
We've followed an eight-step process to make sure this content is reliable, accurate and trustworthy.
Learn how we make our health content.Donate today
Help us continue this and other vital work, including our lifesaving research, by supporting the BHF for as little as £10. Thank you.❤️
Tests for heart and circulatory conditions
Tests are used to diagnose a heart condition or to see how healthy your heart is. Find out what to expect from some of the most common tests.
Treatments for heart and circulatory conditions
You may be having planned or emergency treatment. We explain what to expect, how it will help and what will happen afterwards.