The first step toward a healthy heart is to determine the type and extent of cardiovascular disease. Commonwealth Health provides heart care and offers advanced diagnostic equipment. Experienced clinical cardiologists use a wide range of cardiac procedures to diagnose heart disease, including:

• Electrophysiology studies, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and transesophogeal echocardiogram (TEE) measure the heart’s electrical activity and identify muscle damage that can cause heart disease. Portable devices such as a Holter monitor or event recorder measure a patient’s heart activity throughout the day, over an extended period of time.
• Nuclear medicine scans such as positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT scans, or thallium or myocardial perfusion scans utilize a small dose of radioactive material to reveal the structure and blood flow within the heart.
• Non-invasive imaging technologies including magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), computed tomography angiography (CTA), X-ray and echocardiograms provide images of the heart muscle, valves, veins and arteries.
• Cardiac catheterization, or coronary angiogram, is an interventional cardiology procedure that provides real-time X-ray images (fluoroscopy) to show the heart’s pumping ability, the health of the valves and arteries, as well as measure blood pressure. This technique is also used to collect biopsies and blood samples.