Heart Attack Care

Care for those suffering from a heart attack, also known as myocardial infarction, which occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart is interrupted.

Pelvic Ultrasound

A pelvic ultrasound is a noninvasive (the skin is not pierced) procedure used to assess organs and structures within the female pelvis. A pelvic ultrasound allows quick visualization of the female pelvic organs and structures including the uterus, cervix, vagina, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Doppler ultrasound may also show blood flow in certain pelvic organs.

Laparoscopic Surgery

Laparoscopic surgery (also known as minimally invasive surgery) is performed through multiple small incisions (1/4" to 1/2" long) using specially designed surgical instruments and viewed through a laparoscope, or surgical telescope.

Surgery and Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Erectile dysfunction (ED or male impotence) is a sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis. Medicine can be an effective treatment option. Or vascular reconstructive surgery can be used to improve the blood supply to the penis.

Open or Operative Shunts

Operations devised to preserve the flow of blood through the portal vein to the liver while decompressing varices in the stomach and esophagus by means of surrounding veins.

Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS)

This procedure, also called TIPS, is performed using only a local anesthetic and a sedative. A long needle is inserted by way of the jugular vein in the neck, advanced into a hepatic vein and then into a large branch of the portal vein in the liver. Using an inflatable balloon-tipped catheter tube, the section between the portal vein branch and the hepatic vein is widened and then kept open (stented) with a cylindrical wire-mesh stent.

Neuroangiogram

A neuroangiogram is a type of x-ray that takes pictures of your blood vessels with the help of a "dye" that is injected into your arteries through a catheter. It is used to diagnose problems with the arteries or veins in the neck and brain.

Intravascular Ultrasound

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), or intravascular echocardiography, is a combination of echocardiography (ultrasound) and a procedure called cardiac catheterization. IVUS uses sound waves to produce an image of the coronary arteries and to see their condition. The sound waves travel through a tube called a catheter. The catheter is threaded through an artery and into your heart. This test lets doctors look inside your blood vessels.

Cardiac MRI

Cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) uses special magnets and a computer to create images of the heart as it is beating, producing both still and moving pictures of the heart and major blood vessels. Doctors use cardiac MRI to get images of the beating heart and to look at the structure and function of the heart. These images can help them decide how best to treat patients with heart problems.

Venography

A venogram is an X-ray test that takes pictures of blood flow through the veins in a certain area of the body. A venogram can show the veins in your legs, pelvis, or arm; the veins leading to the heart; or the veins leaving your kidneys. Venography may be done to find a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT).

Venous Doppler Ultrasound

A venous Doppler ultrasound is a diagnostic test used to check circulation. This exam shows any blockage in the veins by a blood clot or “thrombus” formation.

Cardiovascular Research

Clinical research in the field of cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology.

Heart Rate Watches

A specialized watch that tracks the wearers heart rate.

Pedometers

A device that counts the number of strides taken by the wearer by responding to the impact of the wearer's steps.

Nuclear Stress Test

Tests on the heart which use small amounts of radioactive (nuclear) tracers and radiological imaging machines to evaluate the supply of blood to your heart muscle. During a nuclear stress test, a radioactive substance is injected into your bloodstream. This substance mixes with your blood and travels to your heart. A special scanner, which detects the radioactive material in your heart, creates images of your heart muscle.

Coronary Artery Screening Exam

Blood pressure measurements determine if you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a risk factor for coronary artery disease. Blood tests are often done to measure cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is also a risk factor for developing coronary artery disease. If coronary artery disease is suspected, you may have tests to determine the diagnosis. The most common initial tests are electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG), chest X-ray, routine blood tests, and exercise electrocardiogram, also called a "stress test."

Pain Management and Treatment

Pain management and treatment options address the whole person, not just the site of the pain. Options may include: occupational therapy, physical therapy, pain psychology, biofeedback, integrated mind-body pain program, medication management, social work, patient-controlled analgesia, epidural injections, procedural treatments, and/or implantable technologies.

Pacing

How a device is programmed to pace one's heart.

Exercise Consult

Individualized consults with a cardiovascular lifestyle specialist. Patients will receive assistance developing a healthy, individualized exercise program.

Recipe Makeover

A registered dietitian will revamp your beloved, old family recipes into delicious, heart healthy meals that the whole family will enjoy. This makeover includes a comprehensive nutritional analysis of both the original and revised recipes.

Heart Healthy Kitchen Consult

A dietitian will give your kitchen a heart healthy makeover and educate you on heart healthy items to restock your pantry.

Grocery Store Tour

This unique service is a guided grocery store tour led by a registered dietitian. During the tour, patients and family members will learn how to read food labels, choose healthier products and become an overall heart healthy shopper.

Multi-Slice CT

Multislice CT scans, or MSCT scans, often allow remarkably accurate imaging of the coronary arteries, and often, blockages in the coronary arteries can be seen quite clearly. The quality of the image with MSCT scans is partially related to the number of "slices" taken by the camera. Currently, 16-slice and 64-slice CT imagers are commercially available.

Endovascular Stenting

Endovascular stenting is a minimally invasive procedure that uses advanced technology and instrumentation to treat such disorders of the circulatory system as blockage or damage to blood vessels caused by the build up of plaque (fatty deposits, calcium deposits, and scar tissue) in the arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The doctor may recommend the placement of an endovascular stent, a small wire-mesh tube that surgeons call a scaffold, in an affected artery. The procedure may be done in conjunction with cleaning or repairing the artery.

Biplane Angiography

Used for diagnostic and interventional procedures primarily in the brain and neck, biplane angiography allows physicians to view complex vessel structures, make them transparent and visualize what lies behind them.

Aneurysm Evaluation

Treatment of aneurysm, a balloon-like sac in the wall of an artery, vein, or heart caused by a weakening of the wall by injury, disease, or abnormality present at birth.

Embolization

Embolization is the insertion of a substance through a catheter into a blood vessel to stop hemorrhaging or excessive bleeding.

Interventional Radiology and Vascular Studies

We participate in a variety of Interventional Radiology and Vascular Studies.

Aneurysm Coiling

Aneurysm coiling is a less invasive alternative to surgical clipping. It is similar to the cerebral angiogram but instead of simply taking pictures as the contrast medium (dye) is injected into the artery, the aneurysm is treated from the catheter inside the blood vessel by the insertion of coils into the aneurysm’s sac. The coils are packed into the aneurysm. They promote blood clotting within the aneurysm. Both coils and clotting fill the aneurysm closing it off and preventing blood from entering.

Carotid Artery Disease Treatment

Treatment of carotid artery disease, which occurs when the major arteries in your neck become narrowed or blocked. These arteries, called the carotid arteries, supply your brain with blood. Your carotid arteries extend from your aorta in your chest to the brain inside your skull.

Brain Aneurysm Treatment

Treatment of brain (cerebral) aneurysm, which is a bulging, weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain. In most cases, a brain aneurysm causes no symptoms and goes unnoticed. In rare cases, the brain aneurysm ruptures, releasing blood into the skull and causing a stroke.

Arteriovenous Malformations Treatment

Treatment of arteriovenous malformation (AVM). In the majority of cases, AVM is a congenital disorder consisting of a connection between veins and arteries, this pathology is universally known because of its occurrence in the central nervous system, but can appear in any location.

Stress Management

A set of techniques used to help an individual cope more effectively with difficult situations in order to feel better emotionally, improve behavioral skills, and often to enhance feelings of control. Stress management may include relaxation exercises, assertiveness training, cognitive restructuring, time management, and social support.

Treatment of Aortic Dissection

Thoracic Aneurysm Repair

Rotational Atherectomy

Laser-Based Therapies

Hypertension Care

The treatment and care of high blood pressure.

Hyperlipidemia Care

Care and treatments to address higher than normal fat and cholesterol levels in the blood.

Carotid Doppler

The Carotid Doppler exam uses sound frequency in a range that is higher than human beings are able to hear to produce images of the carotid arteries in the neck on a viewing screen. The blood flow through these arteries is evaluated with Doppler.

Cardiolyte Stress Testing

A cardiolyte stress test helps your doctor determine if areas of the heart are not receiving enough blood. The test is done in two parts, allowing the doctor to compare how much blood flows throughout the heart muscle during stress (exercise performed on the treadmill) and at rest.

Anticoagulation and Coumadin Management

Coumadin is an anticoagulation (blood thinning) medicine. It is used to prevent the formation of blood clots or to treat blood clots.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is a method of taking regular blood pressure readings, usually over a 24-hour period, as patients conduct their normal activities. A special, automatic blood pressure monitor is used, and patients are asked to keep a diary or log of their activities during the day.

Weight Loss Consult

Individualized consults with a cardiovascular lifestyle specialist. Patients will receive assistance developing a healthy, individualized weight loss program.

InnerAction!

InnerAction! is a brand new youth weight management program. Our team will help youth lose weight the healthy way. We'll teach them how to exercise--and that exercise is fun! Plus, they'll learn that there are smart foods out there that taste great, too. This interactive program will help them build their self-esteem, so they'll look better and feel better, inside and out!

Take Off a Ton in Ten Weeks

Using proven weight loss strategies, a team of lifestyle specialists will help you succeed. The team includes a dietitian, nurses and exercise physiologists who will help you focus on balancing stress in your life and exercising properly. Plus, we'll help improve your decision-making skills for choosing meals and snacks--whether you are at home or out on the town.

Inotropic Infusion Therapy

Patients who experience severe symptoms of heart failure and repeated hospitalizations for exacerbations may benefit from positive inotropic drug infusion therapy such as dobutamine or milrinone.

Transesophageal Echo (TEE)

An echocardiogram where the echo transducer is placed in the esophagus, or food pipe that connects the mouth to the stomach. Since the esophagus sits behind the heart, the echo beam does not have to travel through the front of the chest and therefore offers a much clearer image of the heart, particularly, the back structures, such as the left atrium, which may not be seen as well by a standard echo taken from the front of the heart.

Lipid Management Clinic

Advanced lipid testing helps find the hidden risks that show the concentration and sizes of the LDL ("bad cholesterol") and HDL ("good cholesterol") particles.

Preventive Cardiology Program

A preventive cardiology program evaluates your cardiac risk factors and develops an action plan emphasizing optimal management of all risk factors, including your lipid and hypertension management and diabetes control. A risk management plan may also include nutrition counseling, education and exercise therapy.

Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR) Laser

The Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR) laser is a new surgical tool that is used alone or in addition to bypass surgery in order to alleviate chest pain. The technique uses a laser to create tiny channels in the heart muscle that revascularize, or increase blood flow, to the damaged area of the heart.

Typically, when blood supply is restricted in an area of the heart, a heart attack or other serious consequences may result. The channels created by TMR laser provide a new route for blood to reach the affected area of the heart muscle.

Rotoblator

A therapeutic procedure in which a long hollow tube (catheter) is inserted into the femoral artery in the patient's groin, and threaded through the blood vessels into the heart. A small diamond-tipped burr is then advanced on the catheter to the site of the blockage in the coronary artery. As the burr spins through the artery, the plaque is pulverized. This procedure is particularly useful for hardened, calcified blockages.

Endovascular Embolization

Endovascular embolization is a procedure that utilizes chemical agents or metallic coils to stop bleeding and treat aneurysms or brain tumors.

Endovascular Brachytherapy

Approved in November 2000 by the FDA, endovascular brachytherapy provides patients with a new and effective option for reopening vascular blockages. The procedure delivers localized radiation to the treatment area, preventing the growth of scar tissue cells.

Ankle Brachial Index

This test is done by measuring blood pressure at the ankle and in the arm while a person is at rest. Measurements are usually repeated at both sites after five minutes of walking on a treadmill. The ankle brachial index (ABI) result is used to predict the severity of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Telemetry Monitoring

A telemetry system uses a series of receivers and transmitters located throughout the hospital. It allows for information from a transmitter packet the patient wears either in a pocket or in a plastic packet holder around the neck to be sent back to receivers at a central monitoring station. It accurately monitors the heart’s rhythm and transmits it back to the central station where the results can be read.

Visceral Vascular Studies

Valve Replacement and Repair

Valve replacement is appropriate for valves that have become too tight with calcium deposits or no longer close properly. These problems may be the result of an infection or a valve that was abnormal at birth and has degenerated over time. There are two general types of replacement valves available: Mechanical valves (allow blood to travel in one direction and prevent it from going backwards) and bioprosthetic valves (made from animal tissue). Sometimes valves can be repaired instead of replaced, but only a surgeon can make that determination.

Peripheral Artery Disease Treatment

Treatment for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) focuses on reducing symptoms and preventing further progression of the disease. In most cases, lifestyle changes, exercise and claudication medications are enough to slow the progression or even reverse the symptoms of PAD.

TeleHealth Program for Heart Failure

An educational disease management program for patients who have mild to moderate forms of heart failure or who are in the early stages of the condition. The program is designed to help patients take control of their condition. Our goal is to give patients the tools they need to develop self-management skills in the comfort of their own homes.

Rapid Chest Response in Emergency Department

Knowing and recognizing the warning signs of a heart attack and getting to the Emergency Department immediately will improve your chances of survival and recovery. At the Chest Pain Emergency Department, patients are triaged quickly and then evaluated by a board-certified cardiologist. This rapid treatment response has proven to increase survival rates for heart attack patients.

Pulse Volume Recording (PVR)

Pulse volume recording (PVR) is part of a simple, painless, noninvasive test that measures blood flow within blood vessels (arteries) in the legs or arms. The measurements obtained from PVRs are used in combination with other tests to help locate blockages in the arteries.

Pulse Oximetry

Electrodes used to monitor your pulse are attached to a part of your body like a finger, earlobe, or skin fold.

Peripheral Studies

Peripheral Stent Placement

Peripheral stenting is one common treatment option for treating Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). A small incision is made in the patient's groin or arm, and a catheter is inserted. A stent is then inserted through the catheter. The doctor navigates the stent to the site of vessel narrowing. The stent is then expanded, and blood flows more easily through the blood vessel.

Pacemaker Assessment and Reprogramming

Pacemakers are tiny devices that keep the heart beating properly. They must be periodically assessed and reprogrammed to ensure proper function.

Off-Pump Heart Surgery

Off-pump heart surgery is done without the use of the heart-lung machine and without stopping the heart. This may reduce neurological complications and improve recovery.

Mitral Valve Prolapse Repair

The mitral valve is the "inflow valve" for the left side of the heart. Occasionally, the mitral valve is abnormal from birth. More often, the mitral valve becomes abnormal with age. It may also occur as a result of coronary artery disease.

Using advanced surgical technology, physicians can perform this procedure less invasively than traditional methods. Surgeons are able to treat some patients by using small incisions on the side of the chest to reach the heart in between the patient's ribs.

Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery

Most heart operations are performed by making an incision through the sternum or breastbone. However, surgeons are able to treat some patients by using small incisions on the side of the chest to reach the heart between the patient's ribs.

A special device called a Heartport is used during the operation. It is mainly used for patients with atrial septal defects (ASD), but it may also be used for some patients who require a valve surgery revision. Minimally invasive heart surgeries are also applied to bypass surgery without the use of the heart-lung machine and without stopping the heart. This may prove to be less traumatic for some patients.

Intracoronary Stent Placement

After a blocked artery is opened using a tiny balloon (angioplasty), a small wire-mesh tube is placed in the artery to keep it open.

Implantable Defibrillator Checks

Implantable defibrillators help patients who suffer from irregular heart rhythms. They are small monitors placed under the skin to continuously monitor the heart's rhythm. When the device detects ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, it shocks the heart to restore the normal rhythm.

Heart Bypass Surgery

Heart bypass surgery, or coronary artery bypass grafting, is a routine procedure that uses veins or arteries from other parts of the body to provide new paths for blood to reach the heart. The most common vessels used in bypass surgery come from the inside of the leg (saphenous vein) or the internal mammary artery from the underside of the breastbone. This vein is used to bypass the blockage in the coronary artery, thus restoring the blood flow to the heart.

Exercise Physiology Testing

Exercise testing can provide valuable and objective insights into a patient's cardiopulmonary condition and capacity. There are different types of exercise tests that may be performed, depending on the questions that need to be answered. Exercise tests usually are performed on a stationary bicycle or a treadmill.

Event/Loop Recorders

Portable event/loop recorders can monitor heart activity for weeks to months, while the device is worn by the individual at home. A permanent record is kept only when the patient activates the recorder during periods when symptoms are felt.

Enhanced External Counterpulsation

Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive procedure that can reduce the symptoms of angina pectoris by increasing coronary blood flow in ischemic areas of the heart.

Endoscopic Vein Harvesting

Endoscopic vein harvesting is an advanced endoscopic technique, which involves just one or two small incisions and allows for easier recovery, less scarring and a smaller risk of infection.

Directional Coronary Atherectomy

Directional Coronary Atherectomy is a non-surgical technique that is used to widen and open the narrowing in the coronary artery.

Usually, the decision to proceed with DCA is made directly after a coronary angiogram while a patient is the catheterization lab. DCA can be preferable to other procedures, such as balloon angioplasty. Some of the factors that determine angioplasty versus atherectomy are the location and shape of the blockage, the size of the artery, and whether clots are present in the artery.

Coronary CT Angiography

Coronary CT Angiography uses a 64-slice CT scanner to produce detailed pictures of the heart in a few seconds and provide sharp, clear, three-dimensional images.

The 64-slice scanner allows doctors to evaluate the most common causes of acute chest pain with a single scan. It may also permit some patients to avoid surgical procedures, such as cardiac catheterization.

Coronary Artery Stent Placement

A therapeutic procedure similar to PTCA; however, instead of a balloon being solely used to compress the plaque into the artery wall, a thin metal expandable cylinder is inserted with the balloon. The balloon is inflated, causing the stent to expand so that the struts embed themselves in the artery wall, thereby allowing the vessels to remain open and provide optimal blood flow to the rest of the heart. This procedure often results in better long-term results than PTCA alone.

Cholesterol Testing

Cholesterol screening is performed by a blood test. Persons with high cholesterol measurements from a blood sample tend to have a higher risk for coronary heart disease than those with cholesterol in the normal range. Studies have demonstrated that persons with high cholesterol can reduce their risk for heart disease by lowering their cholesterol. It is important to understand, however, that people can still have heart disease even with cholesterol levels in the normal range.

Carotid Stent Placement

Carotid artery stenting is a procedure in which a vascular surgeon inserts a slender, metal-mesh tube, called a stent, which expands inside your carotid artery to increase blood flow in areas blocked by plaque.

Cardiac and Vascular Clinical Research Trials

We participate in numerous cardiac and vascular research trials. The list is constantly rotating because national trials open and close due to a number of reasons such as having enrolled enough participants.

Cardiac Risk Factor Education and Counseling

A program that helps uncover your heart disease risk factors and educate you on ways to improve your cardiovascular health.

Heart Catheterization

A doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries.

Biventricular Pacing

Biventricular pacing works like a pacemaker. It synchronizes several actions of the heart to coordinate contractions of the left and right ventricles, reduce the amount of blood flow that leaks through the mitral valve, and decrease the motion of the septal wall that separates the chambers of the heart.

Atrial Septal Defect Repair

The wall that separates the right and left sides of the heart is known as the septum. When a hole, or septal defect, forms in the wall of the upper chambers of the heart, it is known as an atrial septal defect. This defect causes a disruption in the normal flow of blood through the heart and can cause major complications later in life. Most people with this condition have few, if any, symptoms.

Using advanced surgical technology, physicians can perform this repair procedure using less invasive techniques versus using traditional methods. Most heart operations are performed with an incision made through the sternum or breastbone. However, surgeons are able to treat some patients by using small incisions on the side of the chest to reach the heart between the patient's ribs.

Arrhythmia Event Monitoring

Uses various monitoring devices to evaluate and monitor abnormal heart rhythms.

Heart Failure Program

A team of skilled nurse practitioners, nurse case managers, social workers, dietitians and occupational therapists develop individualized plans for patients with advanced heart failure. Patients receive a detailed evaluation and are monitored according to their individual needs.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Surgical repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which involves a widening, stretching or ballooning of the aorta in the heart. The exact cause is unknown, but risks include hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure.

Adrenalectomy

An adrenalectomy is the removal of one adrenal gland, the removal of both adrenal glands or partial removal of one or both adrenal glands. This is often performed when an adrenal tumor or malignancy is present.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy uses a thin, telescope-like instrument called a laparoscope, which is inserted through a small incision in the skin. The laparoscope is connected to a tiny video camera which projects a view of the operative site onto video monitors located in the operating room.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

If you have had a heart attack, heart surgery or other cardiac medical procedure, Cardiac Rehabilitation can help you get back on track. The goal is to help you live more fully, without constantly fearing the serious effects of heart disease.

Cardiac and Vascular Support Programs

We offer educational and support programs for patients overcoming the emotional and physical effects of cardiovascular disease and stroke, their friends and families. This often begins with gaining a better understanding of the conditions and sharing your experience with others through support groups.

Heart Healthy Cookbooks

Our heart healthy cookbooks are packed with easy-to-follow recipes, healthy eating plans and valuable information about lowering your risk for cardiovascular disease.

Exercise Therapy

Individual consultations with an exercise physiologist. Patients will be assisted with developing or enhancing a safe, effective exercise program.

Heart Healthy Cooking Classes

Learn to cook the heart-healthy way! A registered dietician leads the class in preparing a meal from the Mediterranean-American diet, the same diet used in our cookbooks. Participants learn valuable nutrition information and have a chance to enjoy the heart healthy meal they prepare.

Physical Conditioning

Qualified exercise therapists and medical staff supervise a customized exercise program using advanced EKG monitoring.

Heart and Vascular Surgery

A variety of surgery options to treat conditions impacting the cardiovascular system (heart and/or blood vessels). Can range from heart bypass surgery to valve replacement and repair, stenting to aneurysm repair.

Smoking Cessation

Using individualized medical assessment, strategies and health tips, this program helps people identify and reach their goals to stop using tobacco.

Nutrition Counseling

Developing a heart-healthy eating plan can help you reduce your cholesterol and maintain a healthy body weight, both of which are important in the prevention of heart disease. Nutrition counseling provides individual consultations with a nutritionist designed to create a healthy eating plan that is right for you. The nutritionist will review your blood lipid profile, discuss your current eating patterns and provide you with educational materials on foods that will lower your cardiovascular disease risk.

Cardiovascular Risk Management Program

We offer a comprehensive preventive cardiology program that evaluates your cardiac risk factors and develops an action plan emphasizing optimal management of all risk factors, including your lipid and hypertension management and diabetes control. Risk management plan may also include nutrition counseling, education and exercise therapy.

Heart Risk Assessment

An important first step in preventing cardiovascular disease and stroke is determining your level of risk. We offer one-on-one cardiovascular risk assessments, which include cholesterol level and blood pressure checks as well as personal consultations on how to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Heart Failure Treatment

Heart failure is a serious form of heart disease, but it can be monitored and treated in an attempt to improve heart function and reduce symptoms. The proper treatment for heart failure depends on what area of your heart is affected, and can include medicine and/or surgery.

Stroke/TIA Treatment

Treatment of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). A TIA, or "mini-stroke," is often a warning sign of a future stroke. Although there is no cure for stroke, advanced medical and surgical treatments are now available, giving many stroke victims hope for optimal recovery. Treatment is most effective when started immediately.

Cardioverter Defibrillator Implantation

An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) insertion is the implantation of an electronic device (just below the collarbone) used to help regulate electrical problems with the heart. An ICD monitors the heart's electrical activity and responds with either anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) or shock therapy to prevent sudden cardiac arrest. An ICD can also record and store information about your heart rhythm and therapies delivered by the ICD for your physician to review.

Radio Frequency Ablation

Sometimes, individuals suffer from rapid, uncoordinated heartbeats. Radio frequency ablation is recognized as one of the most effective treatments for eliminating fast heartbeats. During the procedure, a catheter is inserted through the groin and guided all the way to the heart. When the catheter reaches the area to be treated, radio frequency energy is delivered to the treatment site. The energy destroys the heart tissue that was causing the rapid impulses of the heart.

Pacemaker Implantation

A pacemaker insertion is the implantation of a small electronic device in the chest (just below the collarbone) to help regulate electrical problems with the heart. When a problem develops, such as a slow heart rate, a pacemaker may be recommended to ensure that the heartbeat does not slow to a dangerously low rate.

Stenting

Stenting places a tiny, expandable coil (stent) inside a blood vessel at the site of a blockage. The stent is expanded to open up the blockage.

Angioplasty (PCTA)

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is performed to open blocked coronary arteries caused by coronary artery disease (CAD) and to restore arterial blood flow to the heart tissue without open-heart surgery. A special catheter (long hollow tube) is inserted into the coronary artery to be treated. This catheter has a tiny balloon at its tip. The balloon is inflated once the catheter has been placed into the narrowed area of the coronary artery. The inflation of the balloon compresses the fatty tissue in the artery and makes a larger opening inside the artery for improved blood flow.

Electrophysiology Studies (EP Studies)

An electrophysiology study (EP study) is a cardiac catheterization to study electrical currents in patients who have arrhythmias.

Angiogram (Heart Catheterization)

Also called an "arteriogram" or "heart catheterization," an angiogram is an x-ray of the arteries and veins to detect blockage or narrowing of the vessels.

Tilt Table Testing

A tilt table procedure is a diagnostic procedure that may be used to evaluate a person who has symptoms of syncope (fainting). When a person has a complaint of syncope, the physician will carefully evaluate the person's past medical history and perform a physical examination. If basic components of the examination or history do not reveal a potential cause for the syncope, and the person has no history of heart disease, then further diagnostic procedures will be scheduled.

Stress Testing

Stress testing (usually with ECG; also called treadmill or exercise ECG) is a test that is given while a patient walks on a treadmill or pedals a stationary bike to monitor the heart during exercise. Breathing and blood pressure rates are also monitored. A stress test may be used to detect coronary artery disease, and/or to determine safe levels of exercise following a heart attack or heart surgery.

Holter Monitoring

The Holter monitor is a portable device for continuously monitoring the electrical activity of the heart for 24 hours or more. Its extended recording period is sometimes useful for observing occasional cardiac arrhythmias that would be difficult to identify in a shorter period of time.

Echocardiogram (Echo)

An echocardiogram (also known as an Echo) is a noninvasive (the skin is not pierced) procedure used to assess the heart's function and structures. During the procedure, a transducer (like a microphone) sends out ultrasonic sound waves at a frequency too high to be heard. When the transducer is placed on the chest at certain locations and angles, the ultrasonic sound waves move through the skin and other body tissues to the heart tissues, where the waves echo off of the heart structures. The transducer picks up the reflected waves and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the echoes into an image of the heart walls and valves.

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is one of the simplest and fastest procedures used to evaluate the heart. Electrodes (small, plastic patches) are placed at certain locations on the chest, arms and legs. When the electrodes are connected to an ECG machine by lead wires, the electrical activity of the heart is measured, interpreted and printed out for the physician's information and further interpretation.

Cardiac Scoring (Coronary CT)

Cardiac scoring is a simple test that determines your risk for developing coronary artery disease long before any signs or symptoms are visible. Using a high-speed CT scanner, physicians can detect calcium deposits in the coronary artery and then assess your chances of developing heart disease.

The high-tech scanning equipment makes the test quick, easy and completely noninvasive. The entire exam takes about 10 minutes.

Biopsy

A biopsy is a procedure in which tissue samples are removed (with a needle or during surgery) from the body for examination under a microscope; to determine if cancer or other abnormal cells are present.