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CARDIOVASCULAR |
ANGIOGRAPHY | A catheter is inserted into an artery in the groin or arm, and threaded toward the heart and coronary arteries. A dye is injected through the catheter. X-ray videos of the coronary arteries and sometimes of the left ventrical of the heart, are displayed on a monitor. |
ANGIOPLASTY | A catheter with an inflatable balloon on its tip is used to treat coronary artery disease by minimizing the blockage. |
CATHETER | Thin tubes useful for clearing blocked arteries, measuring pressures in heart chambers and blood vessels, widening heart valves, taking blood samples (to check oxygen and carbon dioxide), and studying the inside of blood vessels. |
CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION | Catheters, which can be inserted without involving major surgery, are used to diagnose and treat heart disease. To study the right side of the heart, the catheter is threaded into a vein and guided along until it reaches the heart; to view the left side, the catheter is inserted into an artery. Then radioactive dye is injected. See CATHETER |
CHEST X-RAY | Useful in showing the shape of the heart. | \TR>
ECHOCARDIOGRAM | Uses sound waves (Ultrasound) to view the valves, muscle, and blood flow in the heart and major blood vessels. Moving images are produced. No radiation, surgery, or pain is involved. |
ELECTROCARDIOGRAM | Is a simple, widely used procedure which records, on a moving strip of paper, the electrical signals that make the heart beat. Also known as ECG or EKG and Cardiogram |
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIC STUDIES | Useful for studying arrhythmias. Sometimes a doctor stimulates the heart to determine if a particular medication can stop an arrhythmia. Anesthesia is used. |
HOLTER MONITOR | The patient wears a small, battery-powered monitor, usually for 24 hours, to obtain ECG readings throughout the entire day's activities. |
RADIONUCLIDE IMAGING | Tracers (often thalliumm-201) are injected into a vein, the patient exercises, and images of the heart appear on a monitor. |
STRESS ECHO CARDIOGRAM | Similar to STRESS TEST (below) except that an ECHO CARDIOGRAM is taken before and after exercising on the treadmill or bike. |
STRESS TEST (TREADMILL) | Records ECG and blood pressure while the person exercises (usually on a treadmill or bike) to search for problems that do not show up when the patient is resting. While exercising, the patient may experience changes in blood pressure, angina, or electrical abnormalities. |
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