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Diagnostic Evaluation |
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LeBauer HeartCare offers comprehensive diagnostic services for accurately assessing conditions and abnormalities of the heart and its surrounding tissues. Available cardiac testing includes: Cardiac CT Cardiac computed tomography (CT) uses an x-ray machine that moves around the patient’s body in a circle and takes detailed pictures of the heart. Sometimes an iodine-based dye is injected into a vein during the scan to help highlight blood vessels and arteries on the X-ray images. Cardiac CT is a common test for finding and evaluating: - Blocked or narrowed blood vessels that can cause chest pain or a heart attack - Problems with heart function and heart valves - Life-threatening aortic aneurysms (diseased areas of a blood vessel wall that bulge out and can possibly burst) - Aortic dissections (can cause pain and occur when the layers of the aortic artery wall peel away from each other) - Pulmonary embolisms that block arteries in the lungs and usually originate as blood clots in the leg. - Pericardial disease, which involves the sac around the heart Cardiac MRI Cardiac MRI uses radio waves and magnets to create images of the heart as it’s beating, producing both still and moving images. This allows doctors to evaluate heart structure and function. Cardiac MRI is a common test for diagnosing diseases and conditions such as: - Coronary artery disease - Damage caused by a heart attack - Heart failure - Heart valve problems - Congenital heart defects - Pericardial disease (a disease that affects the tissues around the heart) - Cardiac tumors This test doesn’t use ionizing radiation or carry any risk of causing cancer. Sometimes a special dye is injected into a vein to help highlight the heart or blood vessels on the images. This dye doesn’t contain iodine, so there is no risk to people who are allergic to iodine or have kidney problems. Cardiac Catheterization Cardiac catheterization is a procedure to evaluate how well the heart is pumping and blood is flowing to and from the heart. A doctor inserts a catheter, which is a thin plastic tube, into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it is advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries. A radio contrast agent is administered so that the heart and vessels can be viewed using X-ray fluoroscopy. This procedure can be used to: - Measure blood pressure within the heart and how much oxygen is in the blood - Get information about the pumping ability of the heart muscle - Inject dye into the coronary arteries for coronary angiography or coronary arteriography - Perform coronary angioplasty (commonly referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]) Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE) The technical name for a standard echocardiogram is transthoracic echocardiogram. This noninvasive test uses ultrasound to assess the overall health of the heart, and involves placing the echocardiography transducer (or probe) on the patient’s chest. The images are displayed on a monitor, and recorded. Transthoracic echocardiogram can be used to: - Evaluate all four chambers of the heart - Determine the condition of the heart valves, the lining of the heart (the pericardium), and the aorta - Detect a heart attack or enlargement of the heart - Diagnose weakness of the heart and cardiac tumors Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) This test is similar to a TTE but can be more accurate because an endoscope is used to place the ultrasound device in the patient’s esophagus, directly next to the heart. This provides for clearer images than TTE, but TWW is more complicated to perform. Nuclear Cardiology Nuclear cardiology studies generate images of the heart at work (during exercise) and at rest. A patient is given a small dose of a harmless radioactive tracer, and then exercises on a treadmill or stationary bicycle. A special gamma camera takes pictures of the tracer as it passes through the chambers of the heart. The images of the heart at work and at rest are then compared in order to detect problems in heart muscle and blood vessels. |
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