Cardiopulmonary Department

Podcasts - Electrocardiogram - Echocardiogram - Pulmonary Function Test

The Cardiopulmonary Department performs a variety of cardiac, pulmonary, vascular procedures and EEG's.

Cardiac Services

Cardiac diagnostic services are provided to inpatients, outpatients, patients on the Skilled Care Unit, and in East Pavilion. These tests assist the physician in evaluating any irregularities in the heart's functioning. Diagnostic procedures include:

• Electrocardiogram (EKG) records, on graph paper, the electrical impulses traveling through the heart. The purpose is to evaluate the heart’s function, to determine the presence of abnormal electrical impulses and to detect heart damage.
   
• Holter Monitoring is a type of electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) used to monitor the ECG tracing continuously for a period of 24 hours or longer.
   
• Stress Test is a noninvasive procedure performed on a treadmill to help diagnose heart disease. More extensive studies are combined with radioisotopes.
   
• Echocardiogram is a test in which ultrasound is used to examine the heart, which provides the doctor with important information about the size of the chambers of the heart and the pumping function of the heart.

Another diagnostic procedure performed by the Cardiopulmonary staff is peripheral vascular studies. The studies performed are non-invasive vascular ultrasound tests that detect blockages in arteries and veins in the body's extremities. Patients are referred by their physician after an initial exam.

Respiratory Services

Licensed Respiratory Care Practitioners provide diagnostic and therapeutic respiratory therapy services to inpatients, outpatients, patients on the Skilled Care Unit, and in East Pavilion. Therapeutic services range emergency resuscitative measures, routine therapeutic modalities, to management of life support equipment. Diagnostic tests include:

• Pulmonary Function Test - diagnostic tests that help to measure the lungs' ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide appropriately.
   
• Arterial Blood Gas (state-of-the-art) - a blood test that is used to evaluate the lungs' ability to provide blood with oxygen and remove carbon dioxide, and to measure the pH (acidity) of the blood.

Call 757-569-6145 for more information about cardiopulmonary procedures.