Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Imaging
The first step toward a healthy heart is to determine the type and extent of cardiovascular disease. ShorePoint Health Venice provides heart care, offering advanced diagnostic equipment. Our experienced clinical cardiologists use a wide range of cardiac procedures to diagnose heart disease, including:
- Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG) is a measurement of the heart's electrical activity using electrodes placed on the chest to determine if a heart attack has occurred, the location and extent of heart damage and cardiac rhythm problems.
- Echocardiogram is a type of ultrasound test that uses high-pitched sound waves that are sent through a device called a transducer. The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off the different parts of the heart. These echoes are turned into moving pictures of the heart that can be seen on a video screen.
- Cardiac CT angiography is a way to evaluate the chambers of the heart and the vessels that supply the heart with blood. This test is beneficial for looking for plaque and regions of narrowing or blockage in the coronary vessels, evaluating abnormalities in the location of the coronary vessels, evaluating the presence of masses in the heart and evaluating the presence of abnormal anatomic connections in the heart.
- Nuclear medicine scans such as positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT scans, thallium or myocardial perfusion scans utilize a small dose of radioactive material to reveal the structure and blood flow within the heart.
- Stress testing is used to determine the heart's response to different levels of exertion. Types of stress testing include:
- Exercise stress testing - During this test, a patient walks on a treadmill while the heart, blood pressure and any symptoms are closely monitored. It may be combined with echocardiography to evaluate ultrasound images of the heart at the same time.
- Nuclear stress testing - Similar to exercise stress testing, a perfusion test involves injection of a small amount of a radioisotope tracer solution. A special camera tracks movement of the tracer solution immediately after exercise. The test is used to reveal areas of decreased blood flow to the heart muscle during exercise and at rest. Certain medications may be administered in place of the treadmill for patients unable to exercise.
- Cardiac catheterization, or coronary angiogram, is an interventional cardiology procedure that provides real-time X-ray images (fluoroscopy) to show the heart’s pumping ability and the health of the valves and arteries, as well as measure blood pressure. This technique is also used to collect biopsies and blood samples.
- Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a medical imaging methodology using a specially designed catheter with a miniaturized ultrasound probe attached to the insertion end of the catheter. The other end of the catheter is attached to computerized ultrasound equipment. It allows the application of ultrasound technology to see from inside blood vessels out through the surrounding blood column, visualizing the endothelium (inner wall) of blood vessels.
- Signaled average ECG In this test, perfused tissue is illuminated and light passing through the tissue or reflected from it is detected to produce an electrical signal. Amplitude pulses corresponding to the subject's heart beat are detected in the electrical signal and the areas of these pulses are calculated to produce blood flow values indicative of the blood volume pumped by the heart. The blood flow values may be used alone or in combination with other measured cardiac parameters to evaluate cardiac function.
- Tilt table tests are a medical procedure often used to diagnose dysautonomia or syncope. Patients with symptoms of dizziness or lightheadedness, with or without a loss of consciousness (fainting), suspected to be associated with a drop in blood pressure or positional tachycardia are good candidates for this test.
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) utilizes near-infrared light to provide a microscopic insight into the coronary arteries.
To find a heart care physician at ShorePoint Health Venice, call our physician referral line at (855) 876-2362 or view our physician directory.
Take a heart risk assessment to find out your heart's relative age and to learn more about your personal risk factors.