Cardiology

Our team including the doctors, nurses, and assistants ensure that our patients are attended to with compassion, respect, and on time.

Coronary catheterization is how cardiologists visualize the coronaries. Our cardiologist offers this through the radial artery in the hand which permits leaving the hospital within a few hours if no other procedure is needed, and has much fewer complications especially bleeding. Should the patient turn out to have a need for stent insertion our cardiologist in agreement with the patient can perform that in the most technically advanced interventional suite in the region.
Not infrequently patients have narrowing of the heart vessels but cardiologists need a confirmation if this narrowing truly requires stent insertion or can be treated with medical therapy. Our interventional cardiologist performs coronary vessel function assessment using a technique called fractional flow reserve. During this procedure, the cardiologist measures blood pressure inside the coronary artery before and after the narrowing and calculates FFR. This saves the patient from inserting a stent unless the patient’s condition really requires it.

Patients with heart failure require a team effort to perform proper diagnosis and management of reversible causes. In addition to the most up-to-date guideline-based pharmacological therapy, our team offers the needed therapies to enhance the quality of life and prevent sudden cardiac death such as intra-cardiac defibrillator insertion and tri-chamber pacemaker insertion.

A CT scan of the heart can help your doctor see narrowing in the coronary arteries in your heart vessels. Preparation for this test may require taking a medication to control your heart rate and on the day of the test an IV line is inserted for contrast administration.

Measuring calcium deposition in the coronaries is the cornerstone of the modern practice of preventive cardiology to assess the patient’s risk of heart disease and determine subsequent therapies. It’s a simple procedure done by CT scan without insertion of IV line, no contrast and takes less than 1 minute all together.

A cardiac MRI test can help confirm that areas of the heart muscle are not well supplied with blood in addition to learning if these areas are still alive and can be saved.

Measuring the blood pressure over 24 hours using ABPM permits the treating doctor to learn the patient’s blood pressure variations in the patient’s own environment. This permits confirmation of hypertension or if already diagnosed to adjust medications to ensure better results.

People complaining of abnormal heartbeats, or loss of consciousness, or at risk of syncope undergo this prolonged observation of their electrical heart rhythm in their environment at home or work. This helps confirm a diagnosis and determine the next steps.

The ECG is a snapshot of the electrical rhythm of the heart for 5-10 heartbeats. Doctors use this to identify heart attacks, increased stress on the heart, or abnormal heartbeats. It takes less than 3 minutes to be done.

Using a state-of-the-art ultrasound machine we visualize the heart muscle and valves. In 45 minutes our super specialized team fully investigates the function of the heart and identifies any abnormalities.

If your signs and symptoms occur most often during exercise, your doctor may ask you to walk on a treadmill, a stationary bike, or a pharmacologic stress test with ECG monitoring. Sometimes, an echocardiogram is also done while you do these exercises. This is called a stress echo.

Some parts of the heart are hidden in the posterior part of the chest and can only be visualized using TEE. This ultrasound technique entails inserting a probe through the patient’s mouth down to the esophagus and seating the probe right behind the heart to see the details needed. Our team is highly skilled and qualified to perform this procedure while keeping the patient comfortable and safe.

Patients with abnormal heartbeats or loss of consciousness from an unknown cause and require prolonged observational periods can have a loop recorder inserted to monitor their heart rhythm.
Should these patients turn out to have a cardiac cause for syncope or a life-threatening electrical condition our team is well capable of inserting pacemakers or intra-cardiac defibrillators and ensuring the appropriate follow-up. This follow-up includes reading the reported rhythm abnormalities in the inserted devices and adjusting treatments accordingly.