Heart disease is still the number one killer of men and women, claiming an estimated 950,000 lives each year. Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and the third leading killer of men and women. The following two procedures are administered by cardiologists and are helpful tools in detecting problems with the heart, such as heart disease:

ECG (Electrocardiogram)
Simply put, heartbeats are the result of electrical activity in the cells of the heart. These electrical impulses cause the muscles of the heart to contract and relax in a regular rhythm, creating the pumping action that moves the blood through the body.

An electrocardiogram, or ECG, is a painless procedure used to measure the electrical activity of the heart. An electrocardiogram also may be called an EKG (the K stands for the Greek word “kardia”). By monitoring the heart’s electrical activity, the cardiologist can learn a great deal about the health of the heart and the source and location of any problems. For example, an ECG can detect:

• Disturbances of the heart’s rhythm or rate
• Abnormalities in the direction of the heart’s electrical flow
• An enlarged heart
• Damage from a previous heart attack

An ECG takes about 15 minutes and is performed while the patient is lying down. Sometimes the patient is asked to exercise on an exercise bike or treadmill – this is called a stress ECG. Electrodes or leads are attached to the chest and are connected by wires to the electrocardiograph to record the heart’s electrical impulses. Different placements and combinations of leads provide different views of the heart. The electrocardiograph prints a permanent record on a strip of graph paper so the cardiologist can examine and evaluate the results.

Echocardiography
When the cardiologist needs in-depth information about a patient’s heart, a procedure called echocardiography may be ordered. Echocardiography is a safe and noninvasive (does not require an incision) test. The echoes of sound waves are bounced off the heart provide information about the heart’s position, size, structures and patterns of movement, including its pumping function. The echoes bounce off the heart and create patterns which are amplified as three-dimensional images on a television-like screen. Echocardiography can be used in the diagnosis of various heart conditions including:

• Damage to the heart from a heart attack
• Fluid in the sac surrounding the heart
• Heart-valve disorders
• Diseases of the heart muscle
• Cardiac tumors

The procedure usually is performed as an outpatient procedure. A cardiologist, radiologist or technician places a wand called a transducer on the patient’s chest. As the high-speed sound waves transmitted by the transducer encounter solid tissue in the body, they’re reflected back onto the sonogram screen as patterns that accurately reflect the structure and activity of the heart.

Omar Wani, M.D., interventional cardiologist, is a member of the Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona (HVCNA). To learn more about HVCNA visit, NAHeartCare.com. Is there a health topic you’d like to know more about? Please write to Mountain Medicine, c/o FMC Public Relations, 1200 N Beaver St, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, or visit FMC’s Web site at FlagstaffMedicalCenter.com