Heart rhythm abnormalities, or arrhythmias, occur when the electrical impulses in your heart, which are responsible for coordinating your heartbeats, do not fire properly. Several tests can help your doctor track, monitor, and diagnose an arrhythmia. Identifying or documenting an arrhythmia requires tracing the activity.
Cardiac Catheterization is a test to check your heart. The test can check blood flow in the coronary arteries and the pressures in the chambers of the heart, evaluate the heart valves, and check for defects in the heart wall movement.
An Electrocardiogram, or ECG, is a simple, painless test that records the heart's electrical activity. With each heartbeat, an electrical signal spreads from the top of the heart to the bottom, which an ECG records.
An Electrocardiogram Stress Test is a test that checks for changes in your heart while you exercise or stress the heart. Sometimes ECG abnormalities can be seen only during exercise or while symptoms are present. The test can also be referred to as a "treadmill test" or "exercise electrocardiogram" or "exercise stress test". During an ECG Stress Test, you will walk or run on a treadmill.
A Holter Monitor is a continuous test to record your heart rate and rhythm. The device has electrodes and electrical leads exactly like a regular ECG. The Holter Monitor is worn for 12 to 48 hours during normal daily routines to track heart activity.
The loop recorder is a single-lead electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring device. The device is typically implanted in the left parasternal region and is capable of storing ECG data automatically in response to patient activation.
Nuclear Heart Scans use a special Gamma camera to take pictures of tissues and the heart after a radioactive tracer is put into a vein in the arm and is absorbed by the tissues. The tracer allows the camera to see the activity and function of the tissues and heart.
A Pacemaker is a battery-powered device about the size of a pocket watch that sends weak electrical impulses to "set a pace" so that the heart is able to maintain a regular heart rate. The pacing system is made up of a pacemaker, one or two leads, and a programmer.
Radiofrequency Ablation is a procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from a high frequency alternating current.
Radionuclide Ventriculography is a form of nuclear imaging where a gamma camera is used to create an image following injection of radioactive material. The radionuclide has the property of circulating through the heart allowing the camera to capture the pumping function.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can relieve congestive heart failure symptoms by improving the timing of the heart's beats or contractions, which protects patients from dangerously slow or fast heart rhythms.
A stress test can be used to test for heart disease. Stress tests are performed by a doctor and/or a trained nuclear medicine technician to determine evidence of poor blood flow to the heart muscle or the amount of stress that your heart can manage before developing an abnormal rhythm.
A Tilt Table Test is used to evaluate people who have had fainting or near-fainting episodes. The test checks how your body responds when you change body position. The body's nervous system detects changes in body position or stress and regulates your heart rate and blood pressure.
Vascular Ultrasound is a noninvasive ultrasound method used to examine the blood circulation in the arms and legs. During the exam, sound waves are transmitted through the tissues of the area being examined. These sound waves reflect off the blood cells allowing the physician to calculate their speed.
