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"For patients suffering from chest pain or coronary artery disease, our Cardiac Imaging capabilities are a real benefit. We can typically analyze an exam report within 24 hours, which has made patient diagnosis more timely and efficient. This means our patients can enjoy a superior level of cardiac care."
— Dr. Stephen Pezzella
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Did you know that there are more than 100 different types of heart ailments that humans can contract, and that those ailments can be affected by numerous complications that can be difficult to diagnose? At Fallon Clinic, our new Cardiac Imaging Center is helping to make the diagnosing of heart disease faster and more accurate.
The Cardiac Imaging Center at Fallon Clinic features a powerful new diagnostic tool – the Siemens Orbitor Gamma Camera – that allows our cardiologists to examine a patient’s heart quickly and painlessly using noninvasive techniques. This technology is more precise and telling than current common stress tests. The sophisticated machine allows doctors to record—and view on a computer screen—vivid 3-dimensional, moving images of the heart both at rest and when under stress. The images are vital in helping doctors learn about the structure and function of the patient’s heart so they can determine exactly what is wrong.
Our new Cardiac Imaging Center helps provide all the information needed for Fallon Clinic cardiologists to make the right diagnosis and determine the right course of treatment. And it can all be done here in the Cardiology offices at Fallon Clinic.
Precise, state-of-the-art heart imaging
The new Cardiac Imaging Center at Fallon Clinic allows us to specialize in performing cardiology tests that create images of the heart in motion. Unlike other cardiology tests, this imaging technology allows physicians to look at both the physiology and the anatomy of the heart before determining a diagnosis.
One of the most important tests is the Myocardial Perfusion exam, which is used to detect coronary artery disease. In this test, patients are put on a treadmill and exercise until their heart rate increases to a specified level. Then, a small amount of dye is injected into their arm and then the patient lies down on a table for imaging. When the material flows to the heart it is read by the Gamma Camera and turned into 3-D images on the computer. The test is performed when the heart rate is elevated and then at rest so a careful comparison can be made. The images are then stored in a digital database and can be called up on-screen or printed out at any time.
The images generated in the Cardiac Imaging Lab can pinpoint the exact area of a problem in the heart and even determine its severity. Patients who are immobile can be tested by injecting a drug that stimulates the heart rather than using exercise. For many patients, testing in the Cardiac Imaging Lab will be enough to determine their illness and best course of treatment. However, some patients may require further testing such as angiography, an invasive procedure performed in the Cardiac Catherization Lab at St. Vincent Hospital.
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