Common Diagnostic Procedures Flashcards
What is a electrocardiography (Holter monitor)? Purpose?
ECG electrodes are placed on the chest and attached to a small battery operated recording monitor carried in a pocket or a small pouch around the neck.
Recorded for 24-48 hours to evaluate cardiac rhythm, efficacy of medication, and pacemaker function.
What is an angiography? Purpose?
Radiological examination that injects a contrast medium into the blood vessels.
Angiogram can show the location of plaques in the coronary arteries and the extent of occlusion.
What is a bronchoscopy? Purpose?
A procedure for direct visualization of the bronchial tree using a bronchoscope (video camera)
Can identify tumors, foreign bodies, bronchitis and bleeding
What is cardiac catheterization? Purpose?
A thin catheter inserted into an artery in the leg or arm is advanced to the coronary arteries where a contrast dye is injected.
Evaluates narrowing or occlusion of the coronary arteries, measure blood in the heart and O2 in the blood.
What is a carotid ultrasound? Purpose?
Uses sound waves to examine and visualize structure and function of the carotid arteries.
Screens for blockage that may indicate increased risk for stroke and to evaluate the placement of a stent.
What is a chest x-ray? Purpose?
Radiograph used to visualize the location, size and shape of the heart, lungs, blood vessels, ribs, and bones of the spine.
Can reveal fluid in the lungs, aneurysms, pneumonia, emphysema, and cancer.
What is echocardiography? Purpose?
Uses high frequency sound waves to evaluate the function of the heart via real time images
Provides information on the size and function of the ventricles, thickness of the septums, and function of the walls, valves and chambers of the heart.
What is electrophysiologic testing? Purpose?
Evaluates the rhythm of electrical conduction abnormalities of the heart using 3-5 catheters inserted into a blood vessel and threaded to the heart.
Help to locate abnormal tissue that causes cardiac arrhythmias
What invasive hemodynamic monitoring? Purpose?
Continous monitoring of cardiovascular status is performed by intra-arterial catheters and intravenous lines that measure pressure, volume and temperature.
Swan-Ganz catheter is used to measure pulmonary artery pressure and left atrial pressure
Central venous pressure catheter is used to measure pressure in the vena cava or right atrium
What is myocardial perfusion imaging (nuclear stress test)? Purpose?
Radionuclide is injected into the blood at rest and at a maximum level of exercise
Shows how well the heart muscle is perfused at rest and under exercise stress. Images of the heart reveal areas that have reduced blood supply due to narrowing of one or more coronary arteries
What is a pharmacological stress test? Purpose?
Cardiovascular stress is induced by pharmacological agents when contraindications to a routine exercise stress test exist, or when the patient is unable to exercise due to injury or another debilitating condition.
What is a phonocardiography? Purpose?
Creates a graphic record or phonocardiogram of the sounds produced by the heart and great vessels.
Supplements auscultation and improves the detection of S3 and S4 heart sounds in the diagnosis of heart failure
What is a pleuroscopy?
Includes examination of the lung surfaces, pleura, and pleural space using a small video camera inserted between the ribs into the pleural space
What is thoracentesis?
Procedure that includes the removal of fluid from the pleural space with a needle for microbiological and cytologic studies.
What is a venography?
A radiopaque dye is injected into a vein while an x-ray procedure creates an image of the vein to detect a clot or blockage
