Office Tests
For more details on our procedures, treatments, and therapies:
EKG: Electro Kardio Gram
This device was figured out by the Germans, hence, the term “Kardio” has been preserved. However, it is not unusual to occasionally see it referred to as the “ECG”, as in “Electro Cardio Gram”. This is done by them that either don’t know history, or have no respect for tradition.
If we are lying perfectly still, the primary muscle still moving is the heart muscle. In the standard “12 Lead EKG”, electrodes are place on the upper and lower extremities as well as across the chest.
When the EKG is recording, at any one time, one of those leads is (+) , and two other leads are (-) negative. There are 12 different standard ways of changing the plus and minus nature of the leads. This is a way to “look” at the heart from 12 different angles. It gives us an idea how the heart muscle is working and how the hearts nerves are working. It is known and agreed upon as to what each of the 12 patterns should look like. WARNNG! It is possible to have a stone cold normal EKG and get up and have a massive heart attack. Now, after the heart attack, the EKG would look different!
Pulse Wave Analysis
This is a cardiovascular (heart and circulation/blood vessel) and a nervous system screening device. There are many similar devices. The one we use is known as a “Max Pulse” from The Cardio Group. Below is a brief summary.
It is puzzling and amazing how much information can be gained by placing a monitor on a finger for a few seconds! When our heart beats, we can feel a pulse from our neck down to our feet! One thing we CAN’T feel is how fast that pulse rises and falls. Nor can we feel the echoes or after vibrations as the blood vessels relax.
By analyzing these echoes and vibrations of the pulses and the arteries and veins, we can get info about the status of the circulatory system and parts of the nervous system!
Our nervous system is made up of two big systems: the voluntary part and the involuntary part. We have to think about the voluntary part of the nervous system to make it work. The involuntary part of the nervous system basically runs on its own. It is called the “autonomic nervous system.
But! It is composed of two balancing nervous systems: the “flight or fight” (the sympathetic) nervous system, and the “breed and feed” or “rest and digest” (the parasympathetic) nervous system. When life is in balance, these two parts of the autonomic nervous system are in balance. When we are uptight and nervous, the sympathetic part (fight or flight) is more active or higher than the parasympathetic part, as in rest and digest. Oops! We are not “in balance”!
The Ankle Brachial Index
The “ABI” and is heralded as the best, non-invasive way to screen one’s circulation for risk of peripheral artery disease – as in heart attack, stroke, or getting gangrene in the lower extremities. (Google Ankle Brachial Index for more info!) A Doppler and blood pressure cuff is used to determine the blood pressure in both arms as well as both ankles. The higher pressure of the ankles is divided by the higher pressure of the arms.
- Normal ratio: 1.0 – 1.4
- Borderline: 0.9 – 1.0
- Abnormal: < 0.9
Multifunction Cardiogram-MCG
Some alarming statistics…
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. –CDC
More than 659,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year. – CDC Heart Care
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. –CDC
More than 659,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year. – CDC
1 in every 4 deaths is cardiac related or 1 person every 36 seconds. –American Heart Association
Over 300,000 people in the U.S. die of sudden cardiac death every year. – American Heart Association
Most heart attacks happen with less than 50% blockage.– American Heart Association
No current test detects microvascular disease in small vessels which is the most undiagnosed condition of women’s heart disease as well as the leading cause of death in women.
Approximately two in ten deaths from coronary heart disease happen in adults less than 65 years of age. – CDC
30% of heart attacks have no warning. – Mayo Clinic
Underlying factors begin the process 10+ years before a heart attack occurs.
1 in every 4 deaths is cardiac related or 1 person every 36 seconds. –American Heart Association
1 in every 3 deaths in women is cardiac related. More than breast cancer and other cancers combined. -American Heart Association
Over 300,000 people in the U.S. die of sudden cardiac death every year. – American Heart Association
Most heart attacks happen with less than 50% blockage.– American Heart Association
Approximately two in ten deaths from coronary heart disease happen in adults less than 65 years of age. – CDC
30% of heart attacks have no warning. – Mayo Clinic
Underlying factors begin the process 10+ years before a heart attack occurs.
When identified early, heart disease can be completely reversed.
Links to above facts:
https://www.cdc.gov/
https://www.heart.org/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/women.htm
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/angina-chest-
pain/coronary-microvascular-disease-
mvd#:~:text=Women%20more%20frequently%20develop%20coronary%20mi
crovascular%20disease%20and,coronary%20MVD%20has%20been%20a%20
challenge%20for%20doctors
COPY:
Recently our office has adopted a groundbreaking new technology called the
Multifunction Cardiogram™. The MCG™ is an advancement in cardiac diagnostics that
allows us to see issues in your heart that we’ve never been able to see before. We are
so excited to bring this test to our patients!
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in all stages, including early onset
Microvascular Disease, a common problem for women left undetected by other
methods
Rhythm Disturbances, even before they are noticed by most patients
Heart Stiffening before heart failure is a clinical entity
Myocarditis
Plaque Instabilities
Even low-level blockages with high accuracy
Most people don’t know they have heart disease until it’s too late. Last year
in the United States, 325,000 people died of sudden cardiac death, and for
most, the heart attack was their first symptom. In about ten minutes, the
MCG™ identifies obstructive coronary artery disease with the highest
accuracy available in cardiac diagnostic testing, as well as any causes which
would lead to supply and demand imbalances of the entire cardiovascular
system, physiologically.
When compared to other diagnostic modalities, MCG™ is extremely accurate
and reliable, surpassing most established clinical techniques in both
sensitivity and specificity. No current test than MCG™detects microvascular
disease in small vessels which is the most undiagnosed condition of women’s
heart disease as well as the leading cause of death in women. In addition,
MCG™ is capable of accurately detecting coronary artery disease at earlier
stages, allowing intervention at stages where CAD may be controlled by
lifestyle changes, medications, or, better yet, can be reversed.
MCG™’s greatest value is undoubtedly in the primary care arena. Until
now, heart disease was principally only detectable in advanced
stages. MCG™ technology delivers unprecedented early disease pattern
detection capabilities. Now patients with early-stage indicators can forge a
plan with their physicians to reverse their symptoms, increasing their
lifespans potentially by decades. MCG™ testing is safe for all patients,
regardless of age, and is recommended annually for patients beginning at
age 30. Even as early as age 14, MCG™ testing makes sense for athletes or
those genetically predisposed to heart disease.
The MCG™ scan helps the patient and physician accurately understand the
patient’s risk of heart disease. The test results provide vital information
allowing medical providers to formulate a plan of functional recovery so
that their patients do not become one of the startling statistics.
Many factors play a role in heart disease, including environmental toxins,
hormonal imbalances, metabolic imbalances, the physical construction of the
heart, and overall health and wellbeing. Once a baseline has been
established with MCG™ testing, providers can continue to monitor the
success of the treatment plan using periodic MCG™ testing to accurately
determine the advancement or reversal of symptoms.
Heart disease is preventable, which makes the importance of early detection
and treatment essential. It is most often reversible, even in late stages. The
adoption of heart healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits have been
shown to improve cardiovascular health and potentially reverse coronary
atherosclerosis and/or slow or stop the progression of the disease. However,
patients often need to be re-educated about exercise and diet
considerations.
The fact that the initial presentation for half of men and women with
coronary artery disease (CAD) is sudden death or a heart attack is a
stunning indictment of our historic inability to accurately diagnose and treat
coronary artery disease. Current diagnostic methods often miss disease or
lead to potentially harmful interventions for presumed clinically significant
disease that is not present. In short, the “state-of-the-art” tools used to
diagnose CVD, particularly CAD, and measure progression or regression of
disease are, sadly, far less than adequate.
The MCG™ device brings cardiovascular disease diagnosis into the 21st
century. Patients, ages 14 and up, can benefit from having an MCG™ scan
performed to determine their level of risk. MCG™ technology provides the
quick, clear, and objective data needed for medical providers to assess the
condition of a patient’s heart and cardiovascular system. MCG™ offers risk-
free testing that is:Non-invasive
Quick-less than 10 minutes
Cost-effective-per test cost is comparable to other resting ECG procedures
FDA approved
Stress Free
Chemical Free
Radiation Free
