Meadows Regional Medical Center
Services
- Arterial Blood Gases
An arterial blood gas test measures the acidity, oxygen levels and carbon dioxide content in the blood. This can help physicians evaluate how well your lungs are able to move oxygen into, and remove carbon dioxide from, your bloodstream.
This test is performed to help diagnose severe breathing problems and lung diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It also helps assess patients who have experienced heart failure, kidney failure, uncontrolled diabetes, sleep disorders, severe infections or a drug overdose. - Cardiac catheterizations
During cardiac catheterization, a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted through your arm, groin or neck and passed through a large blood vessel to your heart. Through this catheter, your physician can pinpoint blockages or potential blockages in your heart and its surrounding blood vessels.
This is the most advanced procedure for evaluating the condition of your heart and its blood vessels. The information it provides can help your physician treat coronary heart disease, which could lead to a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac event. - EKGs An electrocardiogram (EKG) can provide physicians important information about the heart’s rhythm. It can show evidence of a previous heart attack, increased thickness of heart muscle, decreased oxygen delivery to the heart, and electrical problems within the heart itself. An EKG is often used any time someone is suspected to have a heart-related health problem.
- Oxygen therapy Oxygen therapy can increase the supply of oxygen to the lungs for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and anyone who may need additional oxygen during the day or night. By increasing the oxygen in the lungs, more oxygen is available for body tissues, enabling cells to function as they should.
- Pacemaker insertion A pacemaker is a small electrical device placed under the skin to help control abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias.
- Pulmonary function testing Pulmonary function tests are done to diagnose breathing difficulties such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. They also can help assess a medication’s effectiveness and measure progress in disease treatment.
- Stress testing Physicians use stress testing to help diagnose coronary heart disease (CHD) which can limit blood flow to the heart, potentially causing a heart attack. A stress test also may be used to assess other problems, such as heart valve disease or heart failure.
Back to Top
Back to Top
During the exam, small sticky electrodes are applied to the body and connected to an EKG machine. The machine then records the electrical impulses created by the heart and displays them on a special graph paper to be interpreted by a physician. The whole exam only takes a few minutes.
Back to Top
Oxygen therapy can be administered in a number of ways, from personal oxygen tanks that a person carries with him or her, to raised air pressure applications, such as in hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Back to Top
Pacemakers use small electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate. Newer pacemakers also can monitor blood temperature, breathing rate, and other factors and adjust the heart’s rate to accommodate changes in activity level.
Pacemakers may be used on a temporary basis to treat temporary heartbeat problems, such as a slow heartbeat due to heart attack, heart surgery, or a medicine overdose.
Back to Top
As a patient breathes into different devices, technologists measure lung capacity, assess breathing rate and evaluate how well the lungs can absorb oxygen into the bloodstream.
Back to Top
During a stress test, electrodes are attached to the body to measure changes in heart rate and blood pressure as well as changes in the heart's rhythm or electrical activity. Since the heart has to work harder during exercise, the test often is performed on a treadmill or stationary bike. This enables physicians to detect problems that may not be apparent during periods of rest.
If patients cannot exercise on a treadmill or bicycle, the cardiologist may perform a pharmacological stress test, which involves using medicine to simulate the effects of exercise on
the heart.
Contact
Cardiology Services
912-538-5572
Cardiology Services
912-538-5572
Meadows Regional is a Joint Commission accredited hospital.
© Copyright 2009 Meadows Regional Medical Center
Notice of Privacy Practices | Patient Rights and Responsibilities | Contact Us
1703 Meadows Lane, Vidalia, Georgia 30474
Phone: 912-537-8921