Not the kind of heartache associated with young love, moonlit nights and betrayed emotions, but the literal kind of heartache that accompanies heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular diseases. Ms. Ficociello, a 1992 BSC graduate, is operations supervisor of cardiovascular services at Morton Hospital and Medical Center in Taunton, a department that uses the highest high-tech equipment available to study and monitor the workings of each patient's heart. Hook a patient up to an ultrasound machine and there it is - his heart. If there is a hole in the heart or a misworking valve, a cardiology technician will find it. Other tests can show how much damage a heart sustained during a heart attack, stroke or auto accident.
Technicians can determine how strong the heart is and how healthy the arteries are.
The information is as accurate as possible and can keep patients from experiencing life-threatening heartaches of their own. While echocardiography is not new, such intense study of the heart due to advanced technology is new. The Morton cardiology department is an example of the emerging trend toward preventive rather than reactive medicine. Experts in the medical field are discovering that studying and treating health problems earlier rather than later can keep patients healthy and out of the emergency room. Some diseases are in your genes.