Chest pain has many causes. It can come from the esophagus, from musculoskeletal causes, and from coronary disease. Even then, coronary disease isn't always indicated by chest pain. There may not be any indications of coronary disease at all without the assistance of high-tech diagnostic procedures.
Community Memorial Hospital's Heart and Vascular Center has the expert staff and state-of-the-art technology to properly diagnose coronary disease and other heart problems.
When you come to Community Memorial for cardiac diagnostics, wear normal clothing. Most procedures require a patient to change into a hospital gown. Your belongings will be kept in a secure area during your test.
If you doctor suspects you may have heart problems, a cardiac diagnostic procedures may be ordered. Select a subject to learn about the procedure, what you should expect, what you should do before the test and other important information.
Electrocardiogram (EKG) - A 12-lead electrocardiogram to measure electrical activity of the heart. A patient would have this procedure done if experiencing irregular heart rate, chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness. An EKG may also be performed to gain pre-operative clearance.
Holter Monitoring. The most common type of ambulatory electrocardiography, or heart monitoring, Holter Monitoring provides a 24- or 48-hour record of heart activity.
Persantine/Adenosine Stress Test - A test to evaluate the blood flow to the heart muscle using a nuclear substance to visualize the heart while using medication, persantine or adenosine, to increase the blood flow to the heart muscle.
Stress Echo - A test performed on a treadmill, to evaluate the heart muscle's response when the heart rate increases with exercise. Ultrasound is performed before and after exercise to determine how well the heart functions with exertion. A second type of stress echo test utilizes Optison, a protein with oxygen attached. This is administered prior to the stress echo to provide a vivid image of the left ventricle.
Transophageal Echocardiogram - An ultrasound used to magnify and visualize the heart by inserting a scope into the patient's esophagus.
Treadmill Stress Test - A test to evaluate a person's exercise tolerance and determine if there are any electrocardiogram changes while exercising. (An electrocardiogram monitors heart rate and heart rhythm.)
Two-dimensional Echo - An ultrasound test to take images of the heart valves, blood flow and heart function at rest.
Signal Average EKG - A high resolution EKG that averages the QRS complexes of 500 heart beats, performed by an EKG Technician.
Thallium/Cardiolite Stress Test - A test to evaluate blood flow to the heart muscle using a nuclear substance and exercise to increase the heart rate.
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