Diagnostic Capabilities
St. Mary’s offers a wide range of advanced technology to provide physicians with the tools they need to make fast and accurate diagnoses.
Calcium Scoring – It’s a powerful way to spot the early stages of heart disease while there’s still time to stop it. Heart calcium scoring can detect years of plaque build up long before you have symptoms of heart disease. Read more about Heart Calcium Scoring.
Nuclear Medicine – Usually coordinated with stress testing, this heavily utilized cardiac tool provides imaging of the functioning heart. Generally one of the first diagnostic tools used for patients with chest pain, or episodes of dizziness or shortness of breath, it may provide an indication of the need for interventional work.
Stress Testing – Often utilized in tandem with other tests, this physical exertion of the heart provides physicians with more of the information they need for diagnosing cardiac issues. For those patients unable to physically increase their energy output for testing purposes, pharmacological agents can be used to produce the same effect.
Echocardiography – This noninvasive tool uses ultrasound technology to view the heart and the blood flow through its chambers. Additional testing capabilities are available in combination with other technologies.
Additional tools – Patients who experience occasional period of irregular heartbeats can be fitted with a portable monitor that can be worn home in an attempt to capture an episode on an EKG graph.