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Heart Disease

Each year, 1.2 million Americans suffer heart attacks. Cardiovascular disease and stroke continue to be the nation’s top killers, claiming 870,000 lives each year. Everyone is encouraged to learn more about heart disease and how to prevent it.

Prevention

The most effective treatment for heart disease is prevention. The earlier heart disease can be detected the sooner you can begin modifying your risk factors. Approximately 75% of American adults already show traces of dangerous fat in their arteries that contribute to cardiac arrest. To protect yourself from heart disease follow these guidelines:

- Maintain a healthy and balanced diet.
- Exercise regularly.
- Avoid preventable risk factors such as stress, smoking and high blood pressure.
- Get regular check-ups.

Education

Learn the warning signs. Typically, the earliest symptoms of coronary artery disease are chest pain and shortness of breath with exertion. Other symptoms of coronary artery disease include a fast heartbeat, weakness, dizziness, nausea, and increased perspiration. Heart attack symptoms in men and women often differ. Men usually have the typical type of chest pain that comes with exertion and decreases with rest. Women, older adults, and people with diabetes may have symptoms such as breathlessness, heartburn, nausea, or fatigue; they do not always have chest pain.

Join the fight against heart disease and learn more about how to prevent it. Talk to your healthcare provider about what you can do to reduce your risk.

Cardiac Imaging Services at Atlantic Medical Imaging

Below is a list of the Cardiac Imaging services available at Atlantic Medical Imaging. Your healthcare provider will determine which imaging test is best suited for your particular condition.

Coronary CT Angiography (CCTA)

Atlantic Medical Imaging — Leaders in Coronary CT Angiography

You could spend a lifetime worrying about your heart or in a few minutes find out if you really have to worry at all. The most effective treatment for heart disease is prevention. The earlier heart disease can be detected the sooner you can begin modifying your risk factors. For many people there are no warning sign of heart attacks. Half of the people who suffer heart attacks have normal levels of cholesterol and/or normal blood pressure. For over 150,000 Americans per year, the very first sign of coronary artery disease is sudden death. Now, a revolutionary new examination called Coronary CT Angiography (CTA) can provide the earliest possible evidence of coronary artery disease. Coronary CTA is a noninvasive exam requiring no sedation and no hospital stay. It takes a specialized CT scan of the heart and then using highly advanced computer workstations produces 3D, 360-degree images of the coronary arteries, the place where heart attacks originate. Coronary CTA can discover signs of heart disease that would be invisible to EKGs, stress testing, heart scan (calcium scoring) and even cardiac catheterization.

Unlike the heart scan, Coronary CTA detects calcified and perhaps more importantly non-calcified (soft or vulnerable) plaques. It is these soft plaques, invisible to the heart scan, that are more likely the cause of heart attacks and sudden death. Articles in the cardiology journal, Circulation, indicate that coronary CTA is 95% sensitive for detecting a 50% stenosis (blockage) of the coronary arteries far exceeding the 70% sensitivity typical of stress tests. More importantly, coronary CTA can predict when you are normal with 97% reliability, a number unprecedented in medical imaging. So when coronary CTA says you are normal you can be 97% sure you really are. Atlantic Medical Imaging has the most technologically advanced CT scanners available on the market today. This is backed by the latest in workstation software and one of the world’s largest case experiences with coronary CTA.

In 2007, Atlantic Medical Imaging, in conjunction with GE Healthcare, developed prospectively gated coronary CTA. With this new technique, the radiation dose is dramatically reduced without compromising the image quality. Atlantic Medical Imaging is one of the only facilities in the area which uses this new technique.

Atlantic Medical Imaging has become a world leader in coronary CTA. Dr. David Dowe, Medical Director of AMI’s Galloway facility and Director of the Coronary CTA program, continues to work with GE Healthcare on the technique to acquire the coronary CTA images as well as developing the workstation skills critical to the accurate detection of coronary artery disease. Dr. Dowe has lectured as far away as China and trains radiologists on Coronary CT Angiography. Atlantic Medical Imaging is the International General Electric Training Center for Coronary CTA.

Your doctor now has the necessary tool to diagnose coronary artery disease earlier than any other diagnostic technique in the world today. Heart disease affects both men and women. While men are more susceptible at an earlier age, a woman’s risk of having heart disease rises sharply after menopause.

Cardiac MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging is becoming very important in the initial diagnosis and subsequent management of heart disease. MRI can help physicians look closely at the structures and function of the heart and major vessels quickly and thoroughly, without the risks associated with traditional, more invasive procedures. Using MRI, physicians can examine the size and
thickness of the chambers of the heart, and determine the extent of damage caused by a heart attack or progressive heart disease. After a heart attack, for example, an MRI examination can help the cardiologist understand how well the heart is pumping, whether the flow of blood is blocked in any chamber or major vessel, whether the heart muscles are damaged, or whether the lining of the heart is swelling. This is critical knowledge needed to administer prompt and effective treatment.

Recently, specialists in MRI have demonstrated its potential for showing not only the structure, but also the function of the heart muscles, valves and vessels. Using MRI, they have created movie-like images of the beating heart that doctors can use to diagnose a variety of cardiovascular problems. More and more, MRI is being used as part of the traditional cardiac stress test to help physicians achieve earlier diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and to assess the patient’s recovery after treatment.