Often, we only think about going to the doctor when we’re sick. However,
a visit with a cardiologist may prevent and allow a professional to treat
several cardiovascular diseases and heart conditions.
Here are some reasons to see a cardiologist sooner:
Your primary care doctor recommends you see a cardiologist.
You’re experiencing heart pain or symptoms.
You have a family history of heart problems.
You have high total cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Catheterization labs. Altru boasts three state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization/electrophysiology
labs, which provide both outpatient and inpatient heart catherization
and arrhythmia procedures. These specialized rooms contain diagnostic
imaging equipment used to visualize the arteries and chambers of the heart.
The highly skilled professionals in the labs provide:
Education
Diagnostic examinations
Treatment
Intervention
Echocardiography. Echocardiography is commonly used in the diagnosis and management of heart
disease. It can provide a wealth of information, including the size and
shape of the heart, pumping capacity and the location and extent of any
tissue damage. Types of echocardiograms include:
Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). This type of echocardiogram is the most common. During this test, a transducer
is placed on the chest and upper abdomen. The device translates electrical
impulses into a moving picture of the heart valves.
Stress echocardiogram. During this test, patches called electrodes are placed on the upper and
lower body to record the heart’s activity. This test shows the heart’s
ability to pump blood and can detect narrowed coronary arteries. Your
physician may use it to see if the heart is receiving enough blood flow
and oxygen during activity.
Transesophageal echocardiogram. During this test, a cardiologist will guide a probe attached to an ultrasound
transducer down the throat to visualize your heart. The test generates
accurate pictures of the heart and helps your provider look for signs
of infections or blood clots.
Treatments
Electrophysiology. Altru’s Cardiology offers an advanced electrophysiology
outpatient clinic. Heart
ablation—a process to destroy areas of tissue within the heart that are causing
irregular or rapid heartbeat—procedures are now available to treat
common arrhythmias, such as:
Atrial flutter. A type of heart rhythm disorder in which the upper heart chambers beat too fast
Atrial fibrillation. A condition that causes the heart to have both an irregular and rapid
heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation can increase stroke risk if left untreated.
Cardiothoracic surgery. Altru’s cardiothoracic providers specialize in the surgical treatment
of diseases affecting organs inside the chest cavity. While cardiac and
thoracic surgeries are separate procedures, they are frequently grouped
together as one surgical specialty, encompassing surgery of the heart,
great vessels and nearby organs.
Management
CardioMEMS. Altru providers offer the CardioMEMS™ HF System to manage
heart failure. During a minimally invasive procedure, this miniaturized,
wireless monitoring sensor is implanted into the pulmonary artery (PA).
Patients can use the system to transmit PA pressure data to their healthcare
providers from their home. This proactive, personalized management helps
reduce the chance of hospitalization.
When used by clinicians to manage heart failure, CardioMEMS is:
Safe and reliable
Clinically proven to reduce heart failure admission
Proactive and personalized
To learn more about CardioMEMS at Altru, call
701.780.6236.
Why Choose Altru for Heart Care
Altru strives to always be improving treatments and heart care management
for patients. For example,
every minute counts to lower a heart attack patient’s risk of death and serious heart damage. Through improvements on the STEMI process,
Altru has reduced the average time of opening a blocked cardiac artery
from 60.5 minutes to 47 minutes. Patients can be confident they will receive
the highest level of care at Altru. Altru’s Cardiology has been
recognized by Healthgrades for excellent care.
Request an appointment through
MyChart. For more information, call
701.780.6236.
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