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Our vision for Flow Cardiac Diagnostics is to provide an easily accessible cardiac diagnostic service, provided by a caring and professional team. Flow’s expertly trained team can assist with diagnosis and treatment for a range of cardiac conditions.
Angina is a type of chest pain that is experienced when not enough blood is supplied to the muscle of the heart. Other symptoms of angina include arm and jaw pain, pain the shoulder or back, shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue.
If you suspect you are experiencing angina, you should see your doctor.
To be diagnosed properly for angina, you will need to see a cardiologist who will need to perform a serious of tests, which may include (but not limited to):
Atrial fibrillation, or ‘AF’ as it may be referred to, is when the 2 chambers at the top of the heart (the atrium) beat irregularly, and are out of coordination with the lower chambers of the heart. AF can be paroxysmal, meaning it comes and goes, or permanent.
AF can be rapid, making the heart beat much faster than it should. AF is a serious condition as it can lead to stroke, heart failure and other cardiac complications.
AF can be diagnosed on an ECG, however other tests your cardiologist may request include: echocardiogram, holter or Rooti monitor (Link to Cardiac testing Page).
Are there any risk factors that make me more susceptible to atrial fibrillation?
Anyone can get atrial fibrillation, however if you have several of the following risk factors, you may want to talk to your doctor about your risk of atrial fibrillation:
Further information can be found via the button below.
There are several different types of cardiomyopathies, with the most common being:
Dilated cardiomyopathy is when the size of the heart muscle becomes dilated and stretched. The pumping mechanism fails, so not enough blood can be pumped around the body. There are many different causes for a dilated cardiomyopathy, including:
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is when the muscle of the heart becomes thick and stiffens. Sometimes the thickened muscle can obstruct the blood leaving the heart. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure and arrhythmia. This type of cardiomyopathy is the most common type of genetic heart disease.
CAD is a ‘plumbing problem’, a blockage in the pipes of the heart, or the presence of plaque in your heart arteries. The plaque can be caused by a build-up of cholesterol and fatty deposits inside the arteries.
Symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and sweating can be an indication that the plaque is blocking the artery and reducing flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. Temporary reduction in blood flow is called Ischaemia. If left untreated, these blockages can result in damage to the heart muscle which is a “heart attack”.
Some of the risk factors of CAD include:
To detect Ischaemia the following is required:
Heart failure is a mechanical problem with the heart. The lower chambers of the heart (your ventricles) are responsible for pumping blood out into either your lungs or to the rest of your body, and when they cannot pump the blood effectively, you can enter heart failure.
There are multiple causes of heart failure.
Other causes of heart failure include:
Heart failure is detected by an echocardiogram:
A myocardial infarction is usually referred to as a Heart Attack and happens when the muscle of the heart has been starved of oxygen rich blood.
Coronary artery disease is the major cause of a heart attack. If there is enough of a blockage in the arteries that supply blood to the muscle of your heart, it will prevent the blood flow and can quickly cause damage to, or even kill the heart muscle. Myocardial infarction is a life threatening condition, and this is why medical treatment or angiogram is urgently required.
The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain that lasts for more than 20 minutes. The pain can be felt in different ways, including:
If you have any of these symptoms for longer than 20 minutes, and ambulance should be called immediately.
Once treated for a heart attack, you may require follow up.
To assess the extent of the damage caused by the heart attack the following are used:
There are 4 valves in the heart and valvular heart disease is when there is a significant problem with any of these valves.
One of the types of valvular heart disease is when the valve becomes thickened and restrictive, known as ‘valvular stenosis’.
When this occurs, the valve cannot open properly to let blood flow through freely, and not enough blood can be pumped from the heart.
The other is when the valve fails to close properly and causes it to ‘leak’, otherwise known as ‘valvular regurgitation’.
Many people can have mild valvular heart disease, however once diagnosed, the valve must be monitored with an echocardiogram to make sure it is not getting worse, or causing other issues to the heart.
The symptoms of valvular heart disease include:
Often the cause of valvular heart disease is unknown, but may be due to:
To diagnose Valvular Heart Disease:
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