Myocardial perfusion studies can thus identify areas of the heart muscle that have an inadequate blood supply as well as the areas of heart muscle that are scarred from a heart attack. In addition to the localization of the coronary artery with atherosclerosis, myocardial perfusion studies quantify the extent of the heart muscle with a limited blood flow and can also provide information about the pumping function of the heart. Thus, it is superior to routine exercise stress testing and provides the necessary information to help identify which patients are at an increased risk for a heart attack and may be candidates for invasive procedures such as coronary angiography, angioplasty and heart surgery. An echocardiogram is a safe, non-invasive procedure used to diagnose cardiovascular disease. It uses high-frequency sound waves to lterally see all four chambers of the heart, the heart valves, the great blood vessels entering and leaving the heart, as well as the sack around the heart.
Echocardiography allows doctors to visualize the anatomy, structure, and function of the heart.
It can quickly diagnose the presence and severity of heart valve problems, as well as determine abnormal flow within the heart which occurs with congenital heart disease that you may have been born with. This window to the heart enables the doctors to diagnose a number of cardiovascular disease, so they can begin proper treatment. The conventional echocardiogram usually performed is the transthoracic echo, which is performed by placing the probe on the outside of the chest wall with a gel-like substance to transmit sound waves into the body. The stress echocardiogram combines the echo exam with a treadmill or bike exercise test, or medication that simulates the effect of exercise on the heart. Both forms of stress echocardiograms are used to diagnose the presence and severity of narrowing of the coronary arteries.