Overland Park Heart and Vascular Care

Guided by an X-ray of your anatomy, your surgeon will thread a catheter from a blood vessel in your groin to your heart. There, your doctor can run tests to diagnose several heart conditions. Cardiac catheterization can also help treat certain conditions if needed.

A stress test is a physical exam that tests the strength of your heart at its most active state. This helps us understand your heart health.

Stress Test

In a standard stress test, your technician will attach electrical conductors called electrodes to your body, which are connected to a nearby monitor that records your heart activity during exercise.

Nuclear Stress Test

In some cases, your provider may perform a nuclear stress test, where a radioactive substance is injected into your bloodstream. The radioactive substance flows throughout your body and can be seen on images taken before and during exercise — when it comes into contact with your heart — allowing us to see your heart activity better.

After a special camera takes photos of your heart at rest, you will be connected to electrodes and asked to walk on a treadmill, similar to a standard treadmill stress test. Your technician will increase the intensity of the workout, and at the most strenuous part of the exercise, more of the radioactive substance will be administered into your bloodstream. Your heart will be scanned again so your radiologist can compare how your blood circulates when your heart is at rest versus when it’s working hard.

Stress Echocardiogram

Like a standard treadmill stress test, a stress echocardiogram uses electrodes connected to a computer screen to monitor your heart at its most intense level of exercise. The difference is the instrument used to capture the monitoring.

Before your exam, your technician will move a wand-like device called a transducer across your chest to collect sound waves from your heart. Then, you’ll walk on a treadmill with increasing intensity, with the electrodes still connected to the monitoring equipment. As you reach the most intense part of the exercise, you will immediately end the exercise. As you rest, your technician will return the transducer to your chest and capture images of your heart.

Transthoracic Echocardiogram

In a transthoracic echocardiogram, sound waves are sent from a wand-like device called a transducer into your chest. Echoes from the sound waves are recorded back into the transducer and translated into images at a nearby monitor.

Transesophageal Echocardiogram

In some cases, your technician may focus on capturing sound waves from your esophagus to see if your heart is clotting. This exam is called a transesophageal echocardiogram.

In this procedure, your surgeon will thread a long tube called a thoracoscope into your shoulder blade toward your chest and lungs. Once the thoracoscope reaches its destination, your surgeon can capture videos of the inside of your body using a tiny camera attached to the end of the device.