Making an accurate diagnosis is the first step; matching patients with the best treatment is next. To accomplish this, Evergreen offers an extensive array of diagnostic and treatment procedures.
Angiography
Angiography studies the arterial blood vessels of the body. A contrast dye is injected through a tiny catheter (a thin flexible tube). A rapid succession of X-rays is taken to view how well blood is moving through the arteries.
Cardiac Catheterization
This procedure involves threading a thin, flexible tube into the heart and coronary arteries. This is most often diagnostic in nature, answering questions about any blocked arteries and how many. Once that information is determined, the cardiac team evaluates appropriate treatment, such as angioplasty (which may be performed at the same time) or surgery.
Echocardiography
An echocardiogram, often called an "echo," is a real-time ultrasound of the heart. During this test, high-frequency ultrasound waves are sent into the body through a transducer. Echoes received are used to produce an image of the heart's chambers and valves. This allows the sonographer to evaluate chamber size, muscle function and valve structure and function. In conjunction with two-dimensional pictures, Doppler ultrasound and color Doppler are used to evaluate the blood flow through the heart and across the valves. There are different types of echocardiograms that can be performed, depending on need.
Transthoracic Echo
The transducer is applied to the front of the chest and the ultrasound images are taken through the chest wall. This provides an accurate noninvasive assessment of the overall size, function and structure of the heart.
Transesophageal Echo
A tiny transducer at the tip of a small, flexible tube is “swallowed” by the patient, and then threaded down the throat to get a view of the heart from the back. This technique produces clearer results due to very little distortion of the image.
Stress Echo
A stress echocardiogram (or "stress echo") is a non-invasive test that combines ultrasound pictures of the heart with a stress test. The stress test portion can be either an exercise treadmill test or pharmacological stress test. It uses ultrasound images to evaluate the heart's function at rest and with exercise. This exam greatly aids in the detection of potential narrowing of coronary arteries.
Electrocardiogram
An electrocardiograph (ECG or EKG) detects the electrical impulses that cause the heart to contract. Changes in the ECG signal can indicate electrical disturbances of the heart conducting system, as well as structural abnormalities. For the ECG to chart the heart's electrical activity, electrodes are placed on the chest, wrists and ankles and are connected to a monitor that displays the heart's electrical impulses.
Nuclear Cardiology
Nuclear cardiology evaluates the function of the heart using radioisotopes that are injected into the bloodstream, then tracked by a camera that photographs the progress of the isotopes through the body. Nuclear cardiology can also examine how well blood is flowing to the heart muscle and measure the pumping function of the heart.