Cardiology

The electrocardiogram (ECG) measures and evaluates the functioning of the heart.
Each contraction of the heart muscle, or heart valves, emits an electrical impulse. ECG detects these electrical signals, in particular their timing and strength, and compares them with a pattern considered normal.
It is a painless and non-invasive exam, performed by cardiology technicians, which takes just a few minutes.
It involves placing stickers (electrodes) with small suction cups on the chest, arms and legs. A conductive gel is used to improve the detection of cardiac impulses by the electrodes. A cardiologist then interprets and validates ECG results.

An echocardiogram is a test that uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to visualize how the heart contracts, how it pumps blood and also to evaluate heart valves and blood vessels, such as arteries and veins.
The Transthoracic Echocardiogram is the most common type of echocardiogram: images of the heart are obtained from different angles and positions, moving the ultrasound probe over the chest.

This exam is a type of echocardiogram, used to assess the way blood flows in the chambers of the heart.
Heart doppler can assess the direction and speed of blood flow and diagnose narrowing or blockages in valves, arteries and veins.
This exam uses a problem to detect the sound waves emitted by moving blood. No preparation is required for this exam, which is non-invasive, painless and does not involve radiation. It may take about 30 minutes.

ECG with Stress Test, also known as exercise ECG, stress ECG or Treadmill Test, comprises walking on a treadmill, with an increasing level of difficulty, while recording the heart rate and blood pressure.
The exam is non-invasive well tolerated, and takes about 30 minutes in total. Patients are always under medical supervision and can stop the exam at any time for clinical or technical reasons.
In terms of predation, the only requirement for ECG with Stress Test is that patients wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

Ambulatory blood pulse pressure exam measures blood pressure for 24 hours on a patient’s normal day.
During the exam, blood pressure values are measured and recorded periodically (at intervals of 15, 30 or 60 minutes), allowing a complete recording throughout the entire day – including periods of rest, exercise and sleep.

The holter monitor is a painless and non-invasive test that continuously records cardiac electrical activity through a small device that patients carry for 24 hours.
It is usually performed when the traditional electrocardiogram does not provide enough information about the state of the heart, or when symptoms are not frequent.
Physicians may also request this exam when there is a history of disease that causes changes to the heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation or cardiomyopathies.

A complementary diagnostic test carried out on an outpatient basis, to monitor the heart’s electrical activity using a small device connected to 3 electrodes attached to the chest, over a lengthier period of time (7 to 14 days).

The purpose of this examination is to clarify sporadic symptoms with a probable cardiac origin – assesses palpitations that indicate possible paroxysmal arrhythmias; clarifies syncope and pre-syncope, lipothymia (fainting, dizziness); studies episodes suggesting angina pectoris (occasional precordial pain or pressure).