Diagnostics

Mount Sinai has the diagnostic testing equipment and technology to help doctors determine whether a patients has heart disease and the type and severity of  a patient’s cardiac problems. They also give doctors the ability to develop the most effective treatment plan. Our arsenal of cardiac diagnostic tests includes:

• Nuclear diagnostics. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progress of a disease—long before many medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. These tests use very small amounts of radioactive materials (radiopharmaceuticals) to diagnose and treat disease. In imaging, the radiopharmaceuticals are detected by special types of cameras that work with computers to provide very precise pictures about the area of the body being imaged.
• Stress tests. Stress tests determine whether coronary arteries may be diseased and require further study through cardiac catheterization. The tests also show the extent and severity of obstructions to see how much the heart is being affected by the decreased blood flow.
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a noninvasive test that is used to reflect underlying heart conditions by measuring the electrical activity of the heart.
• Echocardiogram. A test using ultrasound waves to show the size of the heart, its pumping strength, detect value problems and the presence of fluid, blood clots or masses inside the heart.
• Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE). Using the same technology as an echocardiogram, this test enables doctors to obtain images of the heart from inside the esophagus.  With this test, doctors can assess the function of the heart’s chambers and valves, determine the presence of disease and evaluate the effectiveness of medical or surgical treatments.
• Coronary Artery Calcification Screening. This screening produces freeze-frame images of portions of the beating heart, utilizing a high speed conventional CT scanner. The images can show the presence of calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, which indicate arteriosclerosis.