Our cardiac care specialists provide a complete range of outpatient diagnostic and screening tests.
- EKG (electrocardiogram) is a simple, painless test that measures how your heart is beating and whether your heart muscle has been damaged. At Cayuga Medical Center we perform both adult and pediatric EKGs. For more information about EKGs, click here.
- Echocardiography is a gentle ultrasound test of the heart. Ultrasound is the same technology used to image developing babies in utero. High-frequency sound waves are used to capture images of the heart muscle, the heart valves, and the large blood vessels that carry blood to and from your heart. Echocardio- grams provide your physician with information about the size, shape, and efficiency of your heart. At the Cayuga Heart Institute, we obtain cardiac ultrasound images using two types of technology, depending on the individual needs of each patient. They are transthoracic echocardiograms and transesophageal echocardiograms (TEE).
- Transthoracic Echocardiograms are noninvasive and painless. They are performed by a sonographer who moves a small hand-held instrument, called a transducer, across various locations on the outside of the chest and upper abdomen. The transducer emits and receives high-frequency sound waves, creating images of your heart muscle and valves on a video monitor. These images are recorded for further examination by a cardiologist. For more information about transthoracic echocardiograms, click here.
- Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) utilizes ultrasound to examine and evaluate the heart. Your cardiologist may recommend TEE if you have suspected heart problems that can’t be visualized well with standard (transthoracic) echocardiography. In contrast to conventional ultrasound imaging of the heart, which transmits ultrasound from the outside of the chest wall, TEE uses a miniaturized transducer probe, which is placed inside the esophagus (the “swallowing tube”). For more information about TEE, click here.
- Cardiac Stress Testing is used to evaluate the heart’s response to physical exercise, and is as simple as riding a bicycle or taking a brisk walk. It helps your cardiologist determine if there are blockages or narrowing in the arteries in and around the heart. At the Cayuga Heart Institute, we perform four types of cardiac stress testing: Exercise stress testing, nuclear exercise stress testing, nuclear pharmacological stress testing, and exercise and pharmacological stress echocardiography.
- Exercise Stress Testing involves walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle with electrodes attached to your chest. You are asked to follow protocols designed to make your heart work hard. While you exercise, your heart rate and blood pressure are constantly monitored and the information is stored in a computer for analysis and for comparison to your resting vital signs and EKG. For more information about exercise stress testing, click here.
- Nuclear Exercise Stress Testing uses radioactive materials called tracers to capture images of the heart functioning. To get the heart muscle working hard, you are asked to exercise on a treadmill or stationary bicycle for several minutes. When you cannot exercise any more, a tiny amount of tracer is introduced into your body through an intravenous (IV) line in your arm. As the tracer travels through your heart, a special camera detects the material and captures images of the blood flow in your heart muscle. For more information about nuclear exercise stress testing, click here.
- Nuclear Pharmacological Stress Testing uses radioactive materials called tracers to capture images of the heart functioning. This test is much like nuclear exercise stress testing; however, this version of the nuclear cardiac stress test relies on a drug, rather than exercise, to get your heart muscle working hard. Once your heart is working hard, a tiny amount of tracer is introduced into your body through an intravenous (IV) line in your arm. As the tracer travels through your heart, a special camera detects the material and captures images of the blood flow in your heart muscle. For more information about nuclear pharmacological stress testing, click here.
- Exercise Stress Echocardiography uses echocardiogram high-frequency sound waves to capture images of the heart muscle at rest. You then walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bicycle with electrodes attached to your chest. You are asked to follow protocols designed to make your heart work hard. While you exercise, your heart rate and blood pressure are constantly monitored and the information is stored in a computer for analysis and for comparison to your resting vital signs and EKG. At the end of exercising, your heart is scanned and these images are compared to the images of your resting heart to see if the muscle is functioning normally. For more information about exercise stress radiogram Echocardiogram testing, click here.
- Pharmacological Stress Echocardiography uses ultrasound (called an echocardiogram) to capture images of how the heart functions at rest. This test is much like the exercise stress echocardiogram testing; however, this version of the cardiac stress echo test relies on a drug, rather than exercise, to get your heart muscle working hard. Once your heart is working hard, the echocardiogram is used to capture images of the blood flow in your heart muscle. These images are stored and compared to the images of your heart muscle at rest, to look for abnormal movement or lack of movement in the heart muscle. For more information about pharmacological stress echo testing, click here.
Diagnostic and interventional cardiology refers to procedures that diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (including acute heart attack), certain heart valve problems, and congenital heart disease. These procedures are performed in the Cardiac Catheterization Suite and are minimally invasive because they rely on the use of catheters and tiny incisions rather than large incisions.
- Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization is an interventional procedure that enables your doctor to examine the inside of your heart to diagnose a variety of potential heart problems. Your doctor may recommend this procedure if you are suffering from symptoms of coronary artery disease, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, or if other diagnostic tests such as an EKG or stress test indicate possible heart problems. For more information about diagnostic cardiac catheterization, click here.
- Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) is a procedure that uses balloon angioplasty and stents to open clogged coronary arteries on an emergency basis during a heart attack. PCI is also used electively in treating patients with chest pain due to coronary artery blockages. Balloon angioplasty initially opens the blockage and a tiny metal stent is then put in place to hold the blockage open while the artery heals.I am text block.
If you’ve had a heart attack or cardiac surgery, or if you suffer from stable angina (chest pain), your doctor may urge you to make lifestyle changes to improve your health and reduce your risk of future cardiac events. The care team at the Cayuga Center for Healthy Living (CCHL) located at the Island Health Center, can answer your questions and guide you safely through recovery and into a healthier lifestyle. The Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Cayuga Center for Healthy Living (CCHL) has received program certification from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.
- Cardiovascular Rehabilitation through the Cayuga Center for Healthy Living works closely with the cardiologists at the Cayuga Heart Institute. One of the lifestyle changes your cardiologist is likely to recommend is regular exercise. The cardiovascular experts at CCHL can provide you with important answers about how you can feel safe exercising after a cardiac event, how much exercise is enough to be beneficial, and how much is too much. With guidance and the direct supervision of our skilled team, you will learn more about your cardiovascular system, healthy eating, stress reduction, medications, the hows and whys of cardiovascular exercise, the limits imposed by your disease process, and the ways in which you can manage your individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For more information on Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, click here.
- Smoking Cessation is essential to reclaiming your health if you have heart disease. A six-week group program designed to help people stop using tobacco is offered through the Cayuga Center for Healthy Living. Research shows that group support combined with medications can increase your success when compared with quitting on your own and this is the model we use for helping people successfully quit using tobacco. For more information on Smoking Cessation, click here.
- Healthy Eating, Good Nutrition, and Weight Management are crucial for people living with heart disease. The Cayuga Center for Healthy Living offers a number of classes and mini-courses designed specifically to help you incorporate heart-healthy lifestyle changes that will make you feel better while reducing your cardiac risk factors. For more information on Healthy Eating, Nutrition, and Weight Management, click here.
- Holter Monitoring (ambulatory EKG) is a painless noninvasive method to record your heartbeat as you go about your daily activities. For more information about Holter monitoring, click here.
- Cardioversion is a brief procedure during which a controlled electrical shock is delivered to the heart to covert or reset an abnormal heart rhythm to a normal rhythm. Elective or “non-emergency” cardioversion is most often performed to convert atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. For more information about cardioversion, click here.
- Pacemaker Devices are very effective in treating people who have defective conduction systems in their hearts. Our hearts come with a natural pacemaker that regulates the rhythm of our heartbeat, slowing down when we’re at rest and appropriately speeding up when we’re active. Some people, however, develop faulty conduction systems in their hearts that prevent the rhythmic electrical impulses from traveling through the heart muscle. The result is often a heartbeat that is too slow or irregular. These conditions are very effectively treated with the implantation of a permanent pacemaker.
- Pacemaker Implantation is an invasive procedure that takes place in the Cardiac Catheterization Suite. Patients receive a sedative and local anesthesia, which allow them to be mildly conscious during the procedure. The cardiologist makes a small incision in the shoulder and using guided imagery (a form of x-ray) attaches wires from the pacemaker to the inside of the heart muscle. The pacemaker is tucked beneath the skin on the shoulder. For more information about pacemaker implantation, click here.
- Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is a small device used to treat abnormal heart rhythms (called arrhythmias). ICDs are used in conjunction with proper medical therapy to treat patients who are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death from ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. An ICD is a small computer that is surgically placed beneath the skin on the chest, with wires that attach to the inside of the heart muscle. This device monitors every heartbeat, detects arrhythmia, and delivers a shock to the heart. The shock disrupts the abnormal rhythm, with the goal of a restoring a normal heartbeat. ICD surgery is performed in the Cardiac Catheterization Suite at the Cayuga Heart Institute. Patients with ICDs receive lifetime management and support from our cardiologists and cardiac nurses. For more information about ICDs, click here.
- Implantable Loop Recorder is a small device that is placed under the skin on the chest to help identify the causes of syncope (fainting). Syncope, which is a temporary loss of consciousness, may be caused by irregular heartbeats. The implantable loop recorder continuously records heart activity and can provide cardiologists with information about heart activity before, during, and after fainting episodes.