An accurate diagnosis is the first step in treating any heart abnormality or disease. Banner Gateway offers several methods to diagnose an array of heart ailments.
Following are some of the most common methods used at Banner Gateway:
- Echocardiography – During an echocardiogram, also called an echo, a technician uses a painless technique to send sound waves into the patient’s chest. This produces a moving picture of the heart and heart valves.
- Electrocardiography (ECG) - Also called EKG, an electrocardiogram measures the electrical activity in a heartbeat. Patients can be hooked to electrodes or wear a heart monitor (a small box that weighs less than one pound). The monitoring devices send signals to technicians who observe the heart rate and rhythm.
- Nuclear Imaging - Nuclear medicine is a unique type of medical imaging that uses very small and safe amounts of radioactive materials in conjunction with a specialized camera to diagnose and treat diseases. Heart scans are most often used to image blood flow to, and the function of, the heart.
- Treadmill Stress Testing - Stress/exercise testing involves studying the heart while under maximum cardiac stress. It allows technicians to measure the heart's efficiency when subjected to predetermined exercise or cardiac medications. Patients may walk on a treadmill or lie still under a camera depending on how the physician chooses to view their heart function.
There are several approaches for each diagnostic method listed above. Please speak with your physician to determine which test(s) are right for you.
For More Information
|Podcasts: Cardiac tests info|
|Video: What happens in a cardiac stress test |
|What is your risk for coronary artery disease?|