DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES AND PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS CONSULTATION A nurse and physician take your medical history. The cardiologist then examines you. Recommendations are made regarding medication or future testing to define your condition better. No preparation is necessary. Back to main page ECHOCARDIOGRAM An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. A technologist takes pictures of your heart, which are reviewed by the cardiologist. No preparation is necessary. Back to main page HOLTER MONITOR A recording of your heartbeat over 24 hours. You keep a diary so that symptoms can be correlated with your heart rhythm. No preparation is necessary. Back to main page MULTI GATED BLOOD POOL SCAN(MUGA) A small dose of radioactive material is injected through an IV site. It mixes with the blood in the heart chambers. Pictures taken during each phase of the heartbeat allow calculation of the amount of blood ejected with each beat, the ejection fraction, the most commonly used measurement of heart function. No preparation is necessary. Back to main page PACEMAKER EVALUATION Electronic analysis of your pacemaker and reprogramming, if necessary, to prolong battery function. Please bring your pacemaker identification card if available. No preparation is necessary. Back to main page STRESS TEST Some types require treadmill exercise. Other types require use of a medication (Adenosine or Dobutamine) to duplicate the effects of exercise on the heart without requiring any exercise. Click here for Stress Test Preparation. Back to main page EXERCISE STUDY CARDIOLITE (NUCLEAR) TREADMILL A nuclear scan of the heart is performed before and after treadmill exercise. A very small dose of radioactive tracer is injected before each scan through an IV site. A camera rotates around the chest and pictures of the blood flow to the heart are taken, and reviewed by the cardiologists. Click here for Stress Test Preparation. Back to main page TREADMILL EKG The EKG is monitored as the speed and grade of the treadmill is gradually increased. A cardiologist is in attendance and stops the treadmill when a sufficient heart rate is achieved or symptoms occur. Click here for Stress Test Preparation. Back to main page TREADMILL ECHOCARDIOGRAM (STRESS ECHO) Similar to Treadmill EKG test, with the addition of an ultrasound of the heart before and immediately after exercise. The pictures of the heart are correlated with any EKG changes to determine any limitation of blood flow to the heart. Click here for Stress Test Preparation. Back to main page NON-EXERCISE STUDY CARDIOLITE (NUCLEAR) ADENOSINE A 4-minute infusion of a medication (Adenosine) is given, which increases the blood flow to the heart (similar to exercise). A nuclear scan is obtained before and after this Adenosine "stress" to determine whether there is appropriate flow to the heart muscle. Click here for Stress Test Preparation. Back to main page CARDIOLITE (NUCLEAR) DOBUTAMINE For those patients who cannot exercise, but who have lung disease and cannot undergo Adenosine test, Dobutamine is used to increase heart rate (similar to exercise). A nuclear scan is obtained before and after Dobutamine infusion to determine whether there is appropriate blood flow to the heart muscle. Click here for Stress Test Preparation. Back to main page