Whether you need a cardiologist to evaluate your heart health or to perform an advanced cardiac procedure, you can place your trust in the specialists at Southeast Georgia Health System. Our cardiologists have many years of experience diagnosing and treating heart conditions. If you have a heart problem, the expert, personalized care our team provides may add both quality and years to your life.
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Testing can help show how well your heart works. (2 min. read)
Noninvasive heart tests
Diagnosing a heart problem doesn't always involve surgery or an invasive procedure. There are a number of noninvasive tests that can help your doctor learn more about how your heart is functioning. Here are five such tests.
Chest x-ray
What it does: A chest x-ray takes a picture of the heart, lungs and chest bones.
Why you might need it: An x-ray can be used to help assess symptoms (such as shortness of breath or chest pain) that may be caused by a problem with the heart or lungs. For example, it can show if the heart is enlarged or if there's fluid building up in the lungs due to a heart attack.
Computed tomography (CT) scan
What it does: A cardiac CT scan uses x-rays to make 3-D pictures of the heart.
Why you might need it: CT scans help evaluate the health of your arteries and can show things like tears, blockages caused by calcium deposits, inflammation and tumors.
Echocardiogram
What it does: This ultrasound test uses sound waves to create moving pictures of the heart.
Why you might need it: Echocardiography can show the heart's structures and how well they work. For example, the test can help your doctor learn more about abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
What it does: This test records the heart's electrical activity. It may be done in a medical office or your provider may have you wear a portable device (such as a Holter monitor) that records your heart's electrical activity during your regular routine.
Why you might need it: Electrocardiography can show if you have an arrhythmia. It can also determine if you've had a heart attack—or help predict a future heart attack.
Exercise stress test
What it does: A stress test looks at how the heart functions under an increased workload. The test monitors your heart function while you walk in place on a treadmill. Sometimes a radioactive tracer is injected into the bloodstream to help measure blood-flow into the heart muscle with imaging.
Why you might need it: A stress test can help diagnose coronary artery disease or show what's causing symptoms like chest pain. Your doctor may also use a stress test to show what level of exercise is safe for you or to help show if you're at risk for a heart attack or other problem.
Learn the anatomy of the heart
This interactive infographic will show you the different parts of the heart and what they do.
Take a look
Reviewed 1/15/2024
Sources
- American Heart Association. "Exercise Stress Test." https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/diagnosing-a-heart-attack/exercise-stress-test.
- American Heart Association. "Holter Monitor."https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/diagnosing-a-heart-attack/holter-monitor.
- American Heart Association. "Non-invasive tests and procedures." https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/diagnosing-a-heart-attack/noninvasive-tests-and-procedures.
- RadiologyInfo. "Cardiac (Heart) Screening." https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/screening-cardiac.
- RadiologyInfo. "Chest X-ray (Radiography)." https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/chestrad.
- UpToDate. "Ambulatory ECG Monitoring." https://www.uptodate.com/contents/ambulatory-ecg-monitoring.
Cardiology consultations
We offer a variety of outpatient cardiology consultation services at our Brunswick and Camden Campus physician practices, including:
Heart disease risk assessments. Do you have a family history of heart disease or other reasons to be concerned about your heart health? Our team can determine your heart disease risk and help you work to lower it.
Heart evaluations. You can see our cardiologists if you experience signs and symptoms of a new heart condition or worsening symptoms of an existing one.
Help managing heart disease or its risk factors. Many heart problems can be mitigated with medications and healthy lifestyle changes. Our cardiologists can assist you with medication management and empower you with the knowledge and encouragement necessary for you to live your best life. Coronary heart disease, heart rhythm problems, heart failure, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are just a few of the conditions our experts can help you with.
Pre-surgery evaluations. If you need surgery, our cardiologists can help determine if your heart is healthy enough for an operation.
Comprehensive heart testing
If your primary care provider or cardiologist think you need a test to determine if you have a heart problem, we can provide that test for you. Our testing capabilities include:
Diagnostic tests, such as stress and tilt table tests, echocardiography, electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG), and Holter monitoring.
Coronary artery calcium testing, which helps assess your risk for heart disease before you have symptoms so that you and your cardiologist can develop a preventive treatment plan.
Heart procedures
Our team performs the latest cardiac procedures in our cardiac catheterization laboratories (cath labs). In these facilities, our specialists treat heart disease with catheters instead of surgery, and patients often go home the same day as their procedure. The treatments we provide include:
- Balloon angioplasty and heart stent placement procedures, which are performed to open blocked arteries.
- Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL). This innovation procedure allows our cardiologists to safely break up calcium in your arteries and restore blood flow using soundwaves. Sometimes this procedure eliminates the need for open-heart surgery.
- Pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) insertions and generator changes. These devices help the heart beat at a normal rate and rhythm.
- Cardioversion. This procedure shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm when people experience atrial fibrillation.
How to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist
If you would like to make an appointment with one of our heart doctors, please call Southeast Georgia Physician Associates-Cardiology at 912-466-7660.
