Kansas City Cardiology's team of specialists employ a full range of tests to make an accurate diagnosis of your situation.

A nuclear stress test is conducted similarly to a routine exercise stress test, but involves an injection and the taking of images in addition to electrocardiograms to show how much blood is reaching the heart.  During the test, a small amount of thallium, a radioactive substance, is injected into the bloodstream and travels to the heart.  A special camera or scanner creates images of the heart and shows if there are any areas of inadequate blood flow. 

A stress echocardiography or stress echo test is an echocardiogram performed before and during or just after some form of physical stress, usually a treadmill or bike exercise.  The test can be used to:

An electrocardiogram or EKG is a test measuring the electrical activity of the heart.

With each beat of the heart an electrical impulse, a wave, travels through the heart.  The wave causes the heart muscles to squeeze and pump blood from the heart to the body. 

An EKG shows how fast or slowly the heart is beating.  It shows if the heart is beating regularly and where in the body the heartbeat is recorded.  It also records how strong the heartbeat is and the timing of the electrical signal as it passes through the parts of the heart. 

Angiography is term for a range of  X-ray tests used to detect and diagnose diseases of the blood vessels, such as weakening of the vessel walls and the narrowing or blocking of vessels, and to examine the chambers of the heart. A very small tube (catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel in your groin or arm. The tip of the tube is positioned either in the heart or at the beginning of the arteries supplying the heart, and a special fluid (called a contrast medium or dye) is injected.  The X-ray is taken after the vessels have been injected with a substance (dye) that allows them to be seen on film. The pictures that are obtained are called angiograms.

An ultrasound technique in which a probe, about as large as a pinky finger, is placed in the esophagus to "look" at the heart from behind. Transesophageal echocardiography is much more sensitive than transthoracic (across the chest) echocardiography, as overlying structures (bone and lungs) do not obscure the view. This technique requires sedation in almost all cases.

An added advantage is that patients who have already undergone revascularization procedures including stenting and bypass can now be imaged non-invasively.

If you have been having recurrent symptoms, such as dizziness, chest pain, palpitation, or fainting spells, an Event Recorder can help determine if these symptoms are caused by an arrhythmia.

An Event Recorder is a recording device used to record the heart rhythm. It is similar to an EKG. You can wear the recorder over a period of 14 days to 30 days, while you go about your usual daily activities. When you feel symptoms, you press a record button and the event monitor records and stores up to five events of your heart's electrical activity. The Event Recorder is about the size of a pager. You can clip it to a belt, your pants, or place it in your pocket. Two electrodes (sticky patches) are worn on your chest. A wire attaches the electrodes to the Event Recorder. The Event Recorder is worn day and night, and continuously scans your heart's electrical activity.

Tilt Table Testing is one of the diagnostic tools to pinpoint the cause of syncope, or fainting. This test involves lying flat on a table that is able to tilt. The patient is tilted upright at an angle, with the head always above the feet; patients are not tilted upside down. As the patient is tilted toward the upright position, an ECG records the hearts electrical activity. In some patients, this simple maneuver will reveal abnormal cardiovascular reflexes that produce syncope.

The Carotid Doppler exam uses sound frequency in a range that is higher than human beings are able to hear to produce images of the carotid arteries in the neck on a viewing screen. Carotid Doppler studies are used to demonstrate blocked or reduced blood flow in the arteries of the neck that could cause stroke. This test is also used to evaluate symptoms of dizziness, vision changes and loss of balance that may be caused by impeded or restricted blood flow through these vessels.

If you are suspected of having lower extremity arterial disease such as atheriosclerosis, we may perform one or more of a variety of tests including:

1. PULSE EXAMINATION: This is the primary assessment of the circulation.
2. ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURES: Using an ultrasound stethoscope (Doppler), the blood pressure in your arms and legs is measured, and the pressures are compared. This test gives the vascular surgeon a generalized assessment of the severity of the lower extremity arterial disease.
3. DUPLEX SCANNING: This test is useful for detecting blockages in an artery and measuring the size of the artery. It may also be used to measure the size of a vein that may be used as a bypass, a means of re-routing blood flow around a blocked or occluded area.
4. MAGNETIC RESONANCE ANGIOGRAPHY (MRA): This test is also useful for imaging extremity vessels.
5. ANGIOGRAM: Tests in this category involve the injection of a contrast dye directly into your arteries under X-ray guidance.