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- Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center Opens as a Center for Innovative, World-Class Cardiac Care and Patient Education
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- Dr. Holly Andersen to Lead Education and Outreach at New Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
- Reducing the Damage of a Heart Attack
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- Gender Differences and Heart Disease
- JAMA Article Looks at Data-Sharing in Clinical Trials for Heart Disease
- Physician-Scientist Urges Improved Drug Regulation to Ensure Safety of Non-Heart Drugs
- Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Women May Save Lives
- For High Blood Pressure Patients, Preventing or Reducing Enlarged Heart May Decrease Risk for Diabetes
- Columbia Scientists Study Advantages of Using Web to Tailor Medical Information to Patients
- New Intravascular Radiation Procedures Reduce Renarrowing of Coronary Arteries
- A NYC First: Patient Participates in Stem Cell Clinical Trial to Repair Heart Damaged by Severe Coronary Artery Disease
- For High-Blood-Pressure Patients, Preventing or Reducing Enlarged Heart Decreases Risk of Heart Failure
- NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Physician-Scientists Present Findings at American Heart Association's Annual Conference
- Potential for Adult Stem Cells to Repair Hearts Damaged by Severe Coronary Artery Disease Investigated in Ongoing Study
- Scientific Evidence Points to Male Biological Clock
- Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke Studied in First-of-Its-Kind Series of Clinical Studies
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- Diabetics Benefit Less from Anti-Hypertensive Treatment to Reduce Enlarged Heart
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- Gene Test Detects Heart Transplant Rejection
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- Columbia University Medical Center Study Shows Stress Test Saves Lives of Patients With Chest Pain
- New Treatment for Enlarged Heart Effective, NewYork Weill Cornell Study Shows
- Reducing Enlarged Heart Muscle Cuts Patients' Cardiac Risk, Independent of Lowered Blood Pressure, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Researchers Report
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center Physician-Scientists Present Clinical Research at American Heart Association's Annual Conference
- Columbia University Medical Center Instrumental in Clinical Research Leading to Medicare and Medicaid Approval To Cover Heart Pump
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- Do Heart Disease and Cancer Have a Common Genetic Link?
- Research Shows Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Lovastatin Reduces Risk of Heart Attack in Healthy Adults
- Weill Cornell Researchers Announce New Gene Therapy Strategy To Promote Hair Growth
- Lovastatin Treatment Reduces Events in Patients at Varying Degrees of Coronary Risk and Reduces Need for Invasive Procedures
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- Weill Cornell Dean and Cardiovascular Expert Makes "Top Ten" Texas List
- Genetic Medicine Program at Weill Cornell Receives Major Boost from The Starr Foundation
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- Left Ventricular Assist Devices May Improve Heart Function and Lead to Search for New Therapies To Obviate Need for Transplants
- Dean Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Elected Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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- Americans Encouraged to Make Many Lifestyle Changes, Not Just One, to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
- Researcher Predicts Paradigm Shift in Heart Disease Treatment
- NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Announces State-of-the-Art, Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center in Washington Heights
Research and Clinical Trials
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- Angina Pectoris
- Atherosclerosis
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Coronary Arteries: Anatomy and Function
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Diabetes and Heart Disease
- Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)
- Medical Management of Vascular Conditions
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Vascular Conditions and Diseases
- Vascular System
- Vital Signs
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- Advanced Diagnostics
- Alcohol Septal Ablation
- Angiograms
- Angioplasty and Stenting
- Arrhythmia Control
- Artificial Heart Devices: LVAD
- Balloon Valvuloplasty
- Cardiac Electrophysiologic Studies
- Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Cardiology
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Catheter Ablation for Cardiac Arrhythmias
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (Grafting)
- Echocardiograms
- Electrocardiograms (ECGs), Stress Tests, Holter Monitor and Event/Loop Recorders
- Heart Transplant Surgery
- Heart Valve Repair and Replacement
- Implantable Converter Defibrillators and Biventricular Pacing
- Intravascular / Intracoronary and Intracardiac Ultrasound
- Investigational Studies: Percutaneous Valve Replacement
- Off-pump Surgery
- Pacemakers
- Pediatric Heart Surgery
- Preventive Cardiology
- Robotic Heart Surgery
- Surgery for Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Tilt Testing
- Transmyocardial Revascularization
- Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease
- Treatments for Heart Valve Disease
Cardiology
Nuclear Imaging For Heart Disease (PET scans, MUGA scans)
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Nuclear imaging evaluates how organs function, unlike other imaging methods that assess how organs appear. Small amounts of a radioactive solution that is safe and has no side effects are introduced into the body. A special camera detects the solution in different parts of the body and a computer generates a series of images of the areas of interest.
Cardiac SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans also called myocardial perfusion imaging are non-invasive tests that are used to assess the heart's structure and function. SPECT scans use small amounts of radioactive substances that are injected into a vein and special cameras to produce images of the heart. These pictures are used to assess blood flow to the heart muscle and to detect areas of decreased flow due to blockages in the heart's arteries.
Information obtained from SPECT scans can be used to:
- Identify blockages in the coronary arteries
- Determine whether someone has had a heart attack
- Try to predict those at high risk for a heart attack
- assess a patient's condition after bypass surgery or angioplasty
A MUGA (Multiple Gated Acquisition) Scan – also called radionuclide angiography (RNA) – is a test that is used to evaluate heart function by measuring how much blood is pumped out of the ventricles of the heart with each heartbeat (ejection fraction). A small amount of a safe radioactive tracer solution is introduced into a vein. This substance attaches to red blood cells, which are visualized by a special camera and computer as they travel through the heart, and the ejection fraction is calculated based on the computer-generated images.
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is a type of nuclear imaging that can evaluate heart function. PET scans can be used to look for coronary artery disease by examining how blood flows through the heart; it can evaluate damage to heart tissue after a heart attack. Your physician can use this information to determine the best course of treatment for you.
NewYork-Presbyterian also offers nuclear stress testing, also called a myocardial perfusion scan. This nuclear medicine procedure is used to look for blockages inside the coronary arteries. It uses a tiny amount of a radioactive substance, called a radionuclide, is injected through an intravenous catheter to evaluate the heart's function and blood flow. The test shows the blood flow to the heart muscle when it is stressed by exercise or medication, and determines what areas of the heart have decreased blood flow. Any areas of the heart that have blocked or partially blocked arteries will be seen on the scans as "cold spots," or "defects," because these areas will be unable to absorb the radionuclide into the heart.
Last Modified: 07/02/2009
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Hospital News
- Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center Opens as a Center for Innovative, World-Class Cardiac Care and Patient Education
- Eight-Hour Surgery Removes Life-Threatening Blood Clots From 17-Year-Old's Lungs
- 100th Heart Valve Replacement Implanted Without Open-Heart Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia More
