Programs and Services

Advanced Diagnostics

For each patient, Heart and Vascular Center physicians determine the optimal and most cost-effective approach to diagnosing heart and vascular disorders.

Electrophysiology

Tests to determine the presence of an electrical problem in the heart. Patients from around Wisconsin and northern Illinois are referred to Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin for electrophysiology testing and treatment.

The Electrophysiology Lab is equipped to diagnose common and complex electrical disturbances of the heart (arrhythmias). Medical College of Wisconsin cardiologists with special training and board certification in cardiac electrophysiology specialize in the diagnosis of arrhythmias, catheter ablation and implantable devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators. The lab uses state-of-the-art digital fluoroscopy, computerized three-dimensional cardiac mapping equipment, and intravascular ultrasound to visualize of structures of the heart. Electrophysiology testing includes:

Tilt table — to determine the cause for blood pressure drop and fainting. A patient is placed on a table in a horizontal position. The table is then tilted upward by degrees to a vertical position. Blood pressure and pulse and symptoms are recorded with the patient in each position.
Electrophysiology test — a test that records electrical activity and electrical pathways in the heart to locate the source of an arrhythmia. This test also helps determine the best treatment option.

Cardiac Catheterization

The Catheterization Lab is staffed and ready 24 hours a day to diagnose and treat patients with acute coronary disease and heart attack. The lab has the most advanced digital imaging technology available.

Cardiac catheterization offers a minimally invasive way to diagnose coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and structural heart disease. It involves making a small incision in the groin to access an artery. A catheter (a thin, flexible tube) is place in the artery and moved up to the heart.

Diagnostic catheterization (angiography) is done to obtain information about the heart and its function. After guiding a catheter to the area being examined, a “dye” is injected through the catheter and X-ray images are taken to determine the presence of blockages in the arteries.
Interventional catheterization is done as a treatment to open blocked coronary arteries or repair structural problems in the heart. Procedures include angioplasty and stent placement, atherectomy (to remove plaque from arteries), thrombolysis (to remove clots from arteries), valvuloplasty (to open a heart valve) and closure of PFOs and ASDs (holes in the heart).

Medical College of Wisconsin interventional cardiologists, and vascular and interventional radiologists are among the most experienced in the region performing diagnostic and interventional catheterization procedures.

Echocardiography

Ultrasound tests use sound waves to take moving pictures of the heart. An echocardiogram can reveal the size and shape of the heart, pumping strength, and the location and extent of damage to heart tissues. The state-of-the-art Echo Lab performs nearly 7,000 echo procedures a year. The Echo Lab at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin is accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories.

Ultrasound tests performed in the lab include:

Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) — an ultrasound transducer, which emits sound waves, is placed on the chest in the area of the heart to detect problems with the hearts structure and function.
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) — a test that involves placing thin tube with an ultrasound probe on the end into the esophagus. This places the ultrasound probe closer to the heart and provides greater detail. Since 2007, the Heart and Vascular Center has also tested 3-dimensional TEE to diagnose heart problems.
Echocardiography Stress Tests
The Echo Lab conducts stress tests to determine how the heart functions under stress. The test can show if the blood supply is reduced in the arteries that supply the heart. Stress tests may be done on a treadmill, a supine bicycle (the patient pedal while lying in bed), or with the use of a medication that stimulates the heart to pump faster, simulating exercise.
Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) provides unique ultrasound images from inside the heart muscle during heart catheterization and electrophysiology procedures.
3-D echocardiography provides a 3-D echo picture of a beating heart. The Echo Lab has the longest clinical experience in the state using real-time, 3-D echocardiography.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) evaluation — echocardiography to measure the level of asynchrony (lack of synchronization) in the heart and determine a patient’s eligibility for a specialized pacemaker to correct the problem.

Electrocardiography (ECG)

An ECG (also called EKG) recording of electrical activity in the heart to evaluate the cause of symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath and heart palpitations. We perform about 30,000 electrocardiography procedures per year, including ECGs, Holter monitoring (to record heart rhythms over 24-48 hours), loop recordings (to record heart rhythms over extended periods) and pacemaker evaluations.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Cardiac MRI is the most accurate method of evaluating the size and function of the heart. It is a safe, noninvasive procedure that does not involve radiation. It allows comprehensive evaluation of heart disease including:

Ventricular function and infarct imaging — MRI provides accurate assessment of heart function and amount of injury to heart muscle.
Evaluation of heart failure — tissue characteristics of the heart muscle can be studied to determine the underlying causes of heart failure
Cardiac and extracardiac masses — MRI can determine the nature of cardiac masses and tumors
Congenital heart disease and valve evaluation — MRI can assess defects of the heart’s structure present since birth to aid in the treatment. Similarly, patients with valve disease can benefit from the assessment of the degree of narrowing or leakiness of the valve and its consequence to heart function.

Cardiac Nuclear Medicine Imaging

This type of imaging uses of radioactive materials (tracers) to obtain diagnostic images of the heart and vessels. Testing involves giving a tiny amount of a tracer to a patient. The tracer collects in the heart and gives off gamma rays, which are detected by a gamma camera. Skilled nuclear medicine technologists perform the tests, which are interpreted by experienced Medical College of Wisconsin nuclear medicine physicians.

The two main types of cardiac nuclear testing are:

Multiple Gated Acquisition (MUGA) — measures how much blood the heart pumps or “ejects” with each contraction (the ejection fraction) and how quickly that blood is ejected.
Nuclear medicine stress test (also called myocardial perfusion imaging) — evaluates the coronary arteries by determining changes in blood flow to the heart during exercise.

64-Slice LightSpeed VCT Scanner

Because of a unique relationship with GE Healthcare Technologies, Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin are leading the way in researching clinical uses for next-generation imaging technology. These studies include CT angiography with the 64-Slice LightSpeed Volume Computed Tomography (VCT) scanner.

Angiography uses X-rays and intravenous “dyes” to view the blood vessels. The 64-Slice VCT scanner provides a less invasive way to do angiography, compared to standard angiography, which requires placing a catheter into an artery.

The VCT scanner combines rapid X-ray scanning with multiple CT imaging to produce highly detailed images assembled by a computer. VCT images can also be used to diagnose common and hard-to-detect conditions in the heart and blood vessels. In the Emergency Room, a single scan can be used to assess life-threatening conditions in chest pain, such as clogged arteries or a torn aorta.

Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin perform diagnostic angiography almost exclusively with the VCT scanner. Because we were the first in the world (2004) to use this revolutionary scanner to detect coronary artery disease, we have the longest experience with the VCT.

Last Review Date: Apr. 15, 2010