Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Imaging
The first step toward a healthy heart is to determine the type and extent of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Merit Health provides a variety of medical care services and offers advanced equipment for diagnosing heart disease. Experienced clinical cardiologists use a wide range of cardiovascular procedures that are often low-risk to diagnose heart defects or disease, including:
- Electrophysiology studies, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and transesophogeal echocardiogram (TEE) measure the heart's electrical activity and identify muscle damage that can cause heart disease. Portable devices such as a Holter monitor or event recorder measure a patient's heart activity throughout the day, over an extended period of time.
- Nuclear medicine scans such as positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT scans, or thallium or myocardial perfusion scans utilize a small dose of radioactive material to reveal the structure, overall health and blood flow of the heart.
- Non-invasive imaging technologies including medical procedures like magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), computed tomography angiography (CTA), X-ray and echocardiograms provide images of the cardiovascular system including heart muscle, valves, veins and arteries.
- Cardiac catheterization, or coronary angiogram, is an interventional cardiology procedure that provides real-time X-ray images (fluoroscopy) to show the heart's pumping ability, the health of the valves and arteries, as well as measure blood pressure. This technique is also used to collect biopsies and blood samples to potentially diagnose CVD or other cardiovascular health issues.