Radiology

The Radiology Department is an integral part of the Heart Lung Vascular Institute. Many diagnoses are made utilizing a wide variety of services such as CT, MRI/MRA, ultrasound, angiography, PET and Nuclear Medicine. Often unexpected diseases such as aortic aneurysm or lung mass are discovered during routine diagnostic radiology testing for unrelated conditions.

Two common diagnostic and interventive treatments used in Nuclear Medicine include the myocardial perfusion scan (stress test) and the ventilation and perfusion scan (VQ Scan). A cardiac stress test is a procedure performed on patients with chest pain or other types of angina. This test helps in diagnosing cardiovascular disease. Additionally, cardiac stress testing provides the surgeon with vital information about coronary blood flow before a patient undergoes the stress of surgery. A VQ Scan is utilized to detect the presence of pulmonary emboli.

There are many procedures performed in the Angiography Department that aid in the treatment and the diagnosis of disease. Routinely, a peripheral arteriogram is performed preoperatively on patients with peripheral vascular disease, aortic aneurysm and renal or carotid artery stenosis. This provides the vascular surgeon with a “roadmap” of the disease, including the percentage of blockage as well as the length, character and exact location of the vascular lesion(s). Often peripheral angiography leads to percutanous transluminal angioplasty and/or vascular stent placement. These are non-surgical treatments for vascular lesions. Blood flow often can be restored to vessels in the arms and legs by thrombolytic therapy or thrombectomy. All of these interventional procedures offer less risk, stress and recovery time than traditional surgery. In most cases, the patient can be released from the hospital within 24 hours of the procedure with minimal activity restrictions.