Cardiovascular Imaging and Diagnostic Services

Most heart problems can be treated through procedures or lifestyle changes, but effective treatment relies on an accurate and timely diagnosis. Sutter’s heart and vascular institutes offer a wide range of medically recognized diagnostic methods and technologies to identify the type and location of your heart condition.

Electrophysiology Studies

Usually performed in our special electrophysiology lab by specially trained cardiologists and technologists, these procedures involve insertion of an electrode catheter into the heart through a vein, usually in the leg or neck. They can help diagnose abnormalities in the heart’s electrical system leading to irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias).

Laboratory Tests

Basic blood work can reveal a wealth of information about your heart. Depending on your doctor’s recommendations, our labs can test for a variety of things that can be helpful in diagnosing a heart condition. These may include high cholesterol or lipoprotein-a, which are risk factors for heart disease; C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation; and both A1C and blood sugar, two indicators of diabetes or prediabetes.

Stress Tests

These non-invasive tests help measure the amount of blood pumping through your heart during rest and exercise. We offer a variety of stress tests, including: exercise or treadmill stress test, nuclear stress test and stress echocardiogram.

Angiography

An angiogram is a relatively quick outpatient procedure used to diagnose heart disease, arrhythmias or other problems. The doctor uses a catheter, or thin tube, with an electrode at the tip, which he or she inserts through an artery or vein in the groin, arm or neck. Depending on the reason for the procedure, different types of angiography may be used: coronary, aortic, or left heart ventricular.

Imaging

Doctors use cardiovascular imaging techniques, either alone or with other procedures, when they want to see into the heart, veins or arteries and produce images noninvasively. Sutter care centers have a wide selection of imaging services. Some imaging tests for the heart use a small amount of radioactive tracer, such as nuclear ventriculography and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). Others use a magnetic field or radio waves, such as a heart MRI. Angiograms and heart CT scans use X-rays, while echocardiogram and intravascular ultrasound use sound waves.

Heart Rhythm Monitoring

To diagnose irregular heart rhythms, our doctors choose from a variety of methods that can noninvasively collect and record data for periods of time, ranging from a few hours to two years. These include electrocardiogram (EKG), holter monitor, or loop recorder.