Diagnosing Your Heart’s Condition

This is the critical first step in your care. At Vista, physicians have advanced diagnostic capabilities to help determine the condition of your heart. Below are the tests that we use to help determine the health of your heart.

  • Cardiac Stress Testing
    Cardiac stress testing allows us to monitor your heart while you walk on a treadmill. If you are unable to walk, we use intravenous medications to increase your heart rate similar to walking on a treadmill. This test helps physicians evaluate the fitness of your heart.
  • Echocardiograms (Echo)
    By using sound waves to record your heart’s internal structure, physicians can identify damage to the cardiac muscles and measure the movement, size and shape of your heart as well as functionality of your cardiac valves.
  • Electrocardiograms (EKG/ECG)
    Electrocardiograms (EKG/ECG) provide a record of your heart rhythms. This data is used to help diagnose abnormal heart rhythm and/or damage to heart muscle.
  • Electrophysiology Studies
    An electrophysiology (EP) study is a test that records the electrical activity and pathways of your heart. This test helps determine if your heart’s rhythm is abnormal, identifies the anatomical origin of abnormality and the best treatment options for you.
  • Holter Monitor Stress Test
    A Holter Monitor is a recording unit that monitors and records your heartbeat while you are at home for 24 – 48 hours. This allows you to move normally while the device gathers valuable data from your heart.
  • Coronary CT Angiography
    Vista has advanced CT scanners to provide a comprehensive view of the heart and coronary arteries. This highly accurate, non-invasive procedure allows physicians to obtain clear images to assist in diagnosing your heart’s condition.
  • Vascular Studies
    Vascular studies are noninvasive tests that check the blood flow in your arteries and veins using high-frequency sound waves (doppler ultrasound, sometimes called cardiac or vascular ultrasound) to measure the amount of blood flow in your blood vessels and identify blockages.

These cardiac tests are available in Waukegan at Vista Medical Center East and Lindenhurst at Vista Ambulatory Care Center.

Cardiology

Cardiology

Cardiac Care at Vista Health System focuses on the functions and disorders of the heart and its connected circulatory system. According to the American Heart Association, 84 million people in the U.S. suffer from some form of cardiovascular (heart) disease, affecting...

Cardiac Calcium Scoring Screenings

Cardiac Calcium Scoring Screenings

This screening is performed using a 64-slice CT scanner. The patient undergoes a simple scan of the arteries surrounding the heart. No injections, stress tests or medication necessary. The test evaluates the calcium buildup in the arteries surrounding the heart, thus...

Cardiac Catheterization

Cardiac Catheterization

In a cardiac catheterization procedure, a small, hollow tube is inserted into a blood vessel. Once inserted, a number of procedures can be performed through the catheter, including measuring the pressure within the heart’s chambers, collecting biopsies, angiogram, and...

Cardiac Surgery

Cardiac Surgery

Cardiothoracic Surgery Cardiothoracic surgery treats diseases of the heart and lungs. These vital surgeries are performed at Vista Medical Center East by Vista's trained cardiac team, offering you specialized care for your heart right in your community. Coronary...

Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Program

Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Program

If you’ve been diagnosed with a heart-related condition, your doctor may decide to prescribe treatment to help strengthen your heart, reduce risk factors, inform you about healthy nutrition and safety precautions as you return home, and help you resume a normal or...

Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive Heart Failure

What is Heart Failure? Heart failure is when the heart can’t keep up with its workload to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. If the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood, it can’t supply the cells with enough blood. This results in fatigue and shortness...

Healthy Heart Program

Healthy Heart Program

The Vista Ambulatory Care Center, Lindenhurst, offers community members the opportunity to use professionally staffed rehabilitation exercise facilities to stay heart healthy and in shape. An exercise physiologist is available to customize your exercise routine to...

Minimally Invasive Cardiac Treatment

Minimally Invasive Cardiac Treatment

Invasive cardiovascular procedures are tests or treatments that require something (catheter, needle, etc.) to be inserted into the body to perform a diagnostic test or to treat a disease or condition found from a diagnostic test. Because the procedures are invasive,...

Post-Operative Care

Post-Operative Care

Intensive Care Unit Following open heart surgery, patients are first brought to Vista’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It features a contemporary, functional design that keeps patients in direct view of the nurses’ stations. The ICU specializes in caring for patients with...