Cardiology Headlines
"Cardiopulmonary Rehab Excellence"
"South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Echocardiography Lab Receives ICAEL Accreditation"
"South Baldwin RMC to install GE Discovey ST - PET/CT system"
"South Baldwin RMC participates in AHA 1st annual Go Red For Women Symposium"
"South Baldwin RMC named as one of only 118 hospitals successful in using AHA Cardiac Care program"
Resources
The American Heart Association
"See My Heart" - Presented by the American Society of Echocardiography
Cardiac Services at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center are provided by:
Our Services:
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
The ECG provides information about your heart’s rhythm and may provide clues about past or current damage to your heart muscle.
Twelve electrode patches are placed in specific spots on your chest and limbs. Electrocardiographic leads are connected to the patches and the ECG machine records the electrical activity (cardiac rhythm) of the heart in different views. This recording is printed and included in your medical record so your care providers can compare it with past and future ECGs.
What to expect
This test takes just a few minutes to perform. You may be asked to lay very still during the few seconds it takes to record the ECG. You do not need any special preparation or follow-up care.
Echocardiogram (Echo)
This exam utilizes ultrasound waves to form a picture of the heart, providing information about your heart’s size, structure and movement and how the valves work. While you are lying or in a reclined position, a probe called a transducer sends and receives ultrasound waves to the underlying heart structures. The transducer is moved over the skin in order to obtain the images of your heart in motion. Information and images are sent to the device computer and TV screen and are saved on cd.
What to expect
You will need to undress from the waist up and put on a hospital gown. Electrodes will be placed on your chest so your heart rhythm can be monitored. A gel material is used to help transmit the sound waves. The test takes 30 to 45 minutes. The sound waves produced by the echo machine cause no injury or discomfort. There are neither special preparation nor follow-up steps required.
Stress Test
A stress test, sometimes called a treadmill test or exercise test, helps a doctor find out how well your heart handles work. As your body works harder during the test, it requires more oxygen, so the heart must pump more blood.
When taking the test, you will be hooked up to equipment to monitor the heart as you walk slowly on a treadmill, then pick up the pace. The test will show if the blood supply is reduced in the arteries and will help your doctor know what level of exercise is appropriate for you.
A physician may recommend an exercise stress test for various reasons: to diagnose coronary artery disease or a possible heart-related cause of symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath or lightheadedness; check the effectiveness of procedures already performed; and predict risk of dangerous heart-related conditions such as a heart attack.
Depending on the results of the exercise stress test, the physician may recommend more tests such as a nuclear stress test or cardiac catheterization.
Pharmacologic Stress Test/Imaging
If you are unable to perform a walking exercise test on a treadmill, medication (dobutamine, adenosine or dipyridamole) may be injected intravenously to increase the demands on your heart, in order to study the heart’s function at rest and during times when demands are increased. You may feel flushed or experience chest pressure, dizziness, nausea or shortness of breath as the medication is given. This type of procedure may be done together with a perfusion scan. Follow the preparation guidelines listed for exercise testing.
Perfusion imaging
Perfusion imaging may be done in conjunction with an exercise test in order to evaluate the amount of healthy and functioning heart tissue.
During this test, you will receive intravenous injections of a radioactive tracer (either thallium or technetium). With a specialized camera and computer system, scans of the heart are done while you are at rest and again after you have completed a short period of strenuous exercise. The total time this cycle takes is about 40 minutes. Cardiologist will compare the scans to search for areas of the heart muscle that do not receive enough blood either at rest or during increased demands.
Preparation for the scan is similar to that described for the exercise studies, but you will also have an IV to receive injections of the radioactive tracer. You will be asked to change into a hospital gown; women will be asked to remove their bras.
Cardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization - frequently referred to as a heart cath - is an X-ray study of the heart. The cardiologist inserts a small, narrow soft plastic tube called a catheter into a blood vessel and moves it into a heart chamber or the coronary arteries. An X-ray camera photographs the heart’s structure while a clear liquid that blocks X-rays is passed through the catheter into the heart’s arteries or chambers.
The purpose of the procedure is to evaluate the coronary arteries, heart valves and chambers of the heart. One of the results is a recorded image called an angiogram - a road map of blood supply to the heart muscle. This map shows where the blockages in the coronary arteries are and helps the physician recommend and plan appropriate treatment.
In addition to the cardiologist, the team includes specialized cardiac care nurses and radiology technologists. The hospital’s cardiovascular labs are designed especially for this procedure and are equipped with specialized equipment such as fluoroscopy, digital cameras, computers, a heart monitor and other necessary devices.
What to expect:
A heart cath usually takes 30 minutes to 1 hour to perform. However, you may be in the cath lab one to four hours for preparation, procedure and brief aftercare. You may be taken from the cath lab to the Cardiovascular Care Unit (CCU) or a patient room within the hospital, where the nursing staff will continue observation until you are ready for discharge. Your stay will likely be less than 24 hours. Some circumstances may require a longer stay.
Angiogram
An angiogram is an imaging test that uses x-rays to view your body’s blood vessels. Physicians often use this test to study narrow, blocked, enlarged, or malformed arteries in many parts of your body, including your brain, heart, abdomen, and legs. When the arteries are studied, the test is also called an arteriogram. If the veins are studied, it is called a venogram.
Your physician will recommend an angiogram to diagnose a variety of vascular conditions, including:
- Blockages of the arteries outside of your heart, called peripheral artery disease (PAD)
- Enlargements of the arteries, called aneurysms
- Kidney artery conditions
- Problems in the arteries that branch off the aorta, called aortic arch conditions
- Malformed arteries, called vascular malformations
- Problems with your veins, such as deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or blood clots in the lungs called pulmonary emboli
Sometimes physicians can also treat a problem during an angiogram. For instance, your physician may be able to dissolve a clot that he or she discovers during the test. A physician may also perform an angioplasty and stenting procedure to clear blocked arteries during an angiogram, depending on the location and extent of the blockage. An angiogram can also help your physician plan operations to repair the arteries for more extensive problems.
Stenting
A vascular stent is a device used to prop open a narrowed section of an artery. There are a number of stent designs available, but all have the same purpose—to improve the blood flow to the muscle. Stent placement is often done along with angioplasty procedures.
A stent is a small, mesh tube made of stainless steel. One end has a balloon catheter, guided by X-ray and specialized camera equipment into the narrowed segment of the artery. The balloon is inflated and the stent device expands to open a wider channel for blood flow. The balloon catheter is then withdrawn, while the stent stays in place permanently to keep the artery open and help prevent pain from recurring.
Angioplasty (PTA)
Angioplasty (technically called Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty or PTA) is a non-surgical procedure using a balloon catheter to open a blockage in one or more arteries that supply blood to the body.
Atherectomy
An atherectomy restores blood flow to a narrowed artery by removing the material blocking the artery. The entry and passage of these devices is very similar to the angiogram and angioplasty.
Cool Laser
A small fiber optic laser catheter is positioned inside the artery, across from the section where the fatty plaque is blocking blood flow. The catheter transmits short burst of “cool” ultraviolet light which vaporizes a portion of the blockage.
Pacemaker Placement
A permanent pacemaker is a small electrical device surgically implanted in the upper chest to monitor every heartbeat. The procedure is performed in the cardiac catheterization lab and the patient usually has a local anesthetic but is awake.
There are many variations of arrhythmias, so a cardiologist must select the proper pacemaker and have it electronically programmed for your specific needs. The pacemaker monitors heart rhythms as programmed by the cardiologist. When necessary, the pacemaker emits tiny electrical signals to stimulate the heart when the heartbeat becomes too slow or fails to beat within a certain period of time, or if the atria or ventricles beat with no relationship to each other.
Recorded information from the pacemaker can be sent through your telephone line to the doctor's office. If adjustments need to be made, they will be taken care of in your doctor's office. Follow-up visits with your physician will be scheduled.
Become a graduate of our Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation
This program is separated into two categories:
Cardiac Rehabilitation- a 12 week outpatient exercise and education program customized for each patient. Typically for patients diagnosed with heart attack, angina, post-coronary artery bypass, post-angioplasty and other cardiovascular diseases.(Monitored exercise, Nutrition, Risk Factors, Education on Medications, Weight Control, Smoking Cessation, and Stress Management).
Pulmonary Rehabilitation - a 10 week program of outaptient care and customized in-house recovery for patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, peripheral airways disease, asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic restrictive pulmonary disease and other pulmonary disorders. Includes: (Exercise, Weight Control, Smoking Cessation, Stress Management, Education on Medications, Nutrition, Use of Oxygen and Inhalers, and Breathing Techniques).
These Rehabilitation programs are approved for reimbursement by Medicare and most insurance companies.