| Noninvasive tests and procedures Noninvasive tests and procedures are conducted in our offices and don’t necessitate any surgical incisions or medical equipment entering your body. A stress test tells us how hard your heart can safely work and helps us assess if any of your arteries are blocked. Because your heart works harder when you’re exercising, we will ask you to exercise on a treadmill in our offices while we monitor your cardiovascular system with an electrocardiogram (or EKG) and other devices. If our analysis finds that an exercise stress test isn’t safe or appropriate for your condition, we can conduct the stress test with certain drugs that simulate the effects of exercise on your body. Alternatively, we can obtain a diagnosis with tests that uses our new, state-of-the-art nuclear camera, or with echocardiography. Our doctors will determine which stress test is best for you. We will interpret your stress test on the same day you take it. If the results show any abnormalities or cause for concern, we will discuss the results with your referring physician as soon as possible and let you know the best course of action. Similar to ultrasound tests used to view fetuses in pregnant women, echocardiography sends harmless sound waves into your chest cavity to create an image of your heart. We use echocardiography to check for any blockages, leaks or other problems with the heart’s valves and to see if your heart’s chambers are abnormally enlarged. As part of every echocardiogram, we also perform a Doppler study which provides us with additional information about the valves and pressures inside the heart. At Cardiovascular Associates, we have a brand new digital GE
echo machine which allows us to take the best images available
today. Our reading station is updated as soon as your test is
done, so we
can review the results of your echocardiogram immediately. Arterial ultrasound with Doppler In addition to being useful for taking images of your heart, our new GE echocardiogram machine allows us to view the major blood vessels of your body. We can use ultrasound images to determine whether any of these vessels are blocked with plaque, which is a build-up of cholesterol, calcium and other substances. If this arterial ultrasound test uncovers a severe blockage, the next step is usually an angiogram in the hospital. An ankle-brachial index test compares the blood pressure in your arms to the blood pressure in your legs, allowing us to check if any of the arteries that supply blood to your legs and feet are blocked. Basically, we are screening for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition in which not enough blood is making its way to your lower extremities. The ABI test involves taking blood pressure measurements while
you’re at rest and again after five minutes of exercise. We also
perform an arterial ultrasound as part of this test. An electrocardiogram (EKG) allows us to measure your heart’s electrical system. We often use EKG readings as the first step in deciding when additional tests might be necessary. If our doctors believe you have an abnormal heart rhythm and
would like to get a more complete EKG reading than we can get
during an office visit, we will supply you with a small device
called a Holter
monitor, which you wear continuously over several days. The Holter
monitor has three leads, or electrodes, that attach to your body
and will record data about your heart’s functioning. We will also
ask you to keep an ongoing log of any symptoms you might have, so we
can correlate them with the Holter monitor’s data after you return
the device to our office. Blood tests are needed for some cardiovascular disorders. Instead of requiring you to spend time visiting another facility, we draw blood in our offices at Cardiovascular Associates and then send it to an outside lab for analysis. Lipid levels Coumadin levels |
Arterial ultrasound with Doppler |
