Clinical Activities and Procedures

Clinical Activities and Procedures

Medical Cardiology

  • Cardiovascular consultations
  • Echocardiography: 2-D, color Doppler, spectral Doppler, tissue Doppler, transesophageal and live 3-D echocardiography
  • Electrocardiography: digital 12 lead electrocardiograms, Holter (24-hr. ambulatory) monitors, and event monitors
  • Digital radiography and fluoroscopy
  • Blood pressure measurement: indirect (Doppler and oscillometry) and direct methods

Interventional Cardiology

  • Angiography: selective and non-selective angiograms
  • Pacemaker implantation: single and dual-chamber pacing
  • Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occlusion: PDA coil embolization, vascular plugs and amplatz canine ductal occluders
  • Balloon valvuloplasty:  pulmonic, tricuspid and mitral valve stenosis, as well as ballooning of other congenital cardiac defects

Live 3-D Echocardiography

  • Live three-dimensional echocardiography is an ultrasound modality that allows better imaging of the cardiac structures and provides a more sophisticated method of quantifying cardiac function in humans. It is beneficial in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases in animal patients.

Transesophageal Echocardiography

  • Transesophageal echocardiography is an imaging technique that uses a special ultrasound probe that is placed in the esophagus. It provides a more detailed image of cardiac structures and is especially useful when performing interventional cardiac procedures such as PDA occlusion and balloon valvuloplasty.