Cardiac Investigations

ECG (Electrocardiogram)

The most widely used investigative tool in cardiology. The ECG represents the hearts own electrical activity providing insight into a variety of heart conditions.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

Provides blood pressure information over a 24 hour period.
Allows exclusion of white coat hypertension, confirmation of true hypertension and an assessment of blood pressure control in patients on therapy.

Holter (24 hour ambulatory ECG) monitoring

Provides ECG information over a 24 hour period.
Allows detection of both fast and slow rhythm disturbances in patients with palpitations, dizziness, blackouts and other intermittent symptoms.
May also detect asymptomatic rhythm abnormalities in patients with known heart disease.

Treadmill Exercise ECG

Compares the ECG tracing at rest to that at exercise. Useful screening test for coronary artery disease in men, but is not accurate in women.

ECHO (Echocardiography)

An ECHO is an ultrasound of the heart, providing detailed images and extensive information on the heart muscle and valve structure and function.
ECHO has many indications, including the investigations of Murmurs (exclude valve disease), Shortness of Breath (exclude muscle or valve dysfunction), and Hypertension (assess for cardiac hypertrophy and function).

Normal ECHO

STRESS ECHO

Compares the heart muscle function at rest to that at peak exercise in multiple views.

The changes seen on Stress ECHO occur earlier than ECG changes or symptoms and are more reliable, hence providing superior accuracy in both detecting and excluding coronary artery disease.

Stress ECHO is the non-invasive investigation of choice in men and women for the investigation of chest pain, shortness of breath on exertion or risk factors for heart disease.

The Shire Heart Clinic is a Philips Luminary site and uses their most advanced echocardiogram, the IE-33 to ensure optimal image quality and cardiac ultrasound assessment. This provides the greatest possible accuracy in diagnosis.

Normal Stress ECHO