Channel: Lee Health

Category: Education

Tags: plaqueheart attackultrasoundscardiac imagingweak heartarteryinvasive angiogramcardiac ctcardiologistheartpreventative treatmentvessel wallhigh-resolution photo of hearttaking pictures of heartchest paindiagnostic cathdiagnostic toolcathetersvalve leakagect scan

Description: Persistent chest pain can be serious. “It needs to not be minimized because it could be a heart attack,” said Lee Health Cardiologist Dr. Juan Lopez-Mattei. In order to make a proper diagnosis, doctors use cardiac imaging. Think of it as a high-resolution photo of your heart. “With the ultrasound, you can see if the heart is weak or if the heart is strong if there’s a valve leakage,” said Dr. Lopez-Mattei. Dr. Lopez-Mattei said in the past, doctors used an invasive technique called a Diagnostic Cath, where they would have to enter the artery with catheters. Now there are new guidelines that strongly recommend doing a Cardiac CT. “When you do a CT, you can see what is in the wall of the vessel and outside the vessel, you can see the plaque, which is something that in the past with an invasive angiogram we would miss,” said Dr. Lopez-Mattei. Not only is a CT less invasive, but it also provides better imaging than past methods. “Some very small plaques that now we can identify. If we identify it with a CT, we can start preventive treatment,” said Dr. Lopez-Mattei. This new way isn’t right for everyone. A cardiologist will decide what’s best for you, but if you do have chest pain, it’s critical that you speak with your doctor as soon as possible. View More Health Matters video segments at LeeHealth.org/Healthmatters Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care. Visit LeeHealth.org