Diagnostic Testing

Accredited Advanced Vascular Imaging Services, offered only at Yale New Haven Hospital, combines the resources of the hospital's main diagnostic radiology group to provide the most advanced technology and expertise to diagnose vascular disease.

Learn more about Advanced Vascular Imaging

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABP) assists in the diagnosis of clinical hypertension. The blood pressure monitor is worn for a 24 hour period.

The blood pressure monitor is about the size of a large cell phone (generally worn at the waist) and is connected with a hose to a full size blood pressure cuff on your arm. The monitor will automatically obtain and record your blood pressure every hour. You will be given a diary to record certain activities and symptoms experienced while wearing the monitor.

If your physician suspects that your chest pain is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels of the heart, you may undergo cardiac catheterization in one of our state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories. Using the latest technology, cardiologists inject dye into the arteries to see if and where there is a blockage. Pictures taken during catheterizations help cardiologists plan the best course of treatment.

Patients who undergo a cardiac catheterization are usually discharged that same day.

Cardiac computed tomography, or cardiac CT, is a noninvasive cardiac imaging test that uses X-rays to take detailed pictures of the heart and blood vessels.

Our cardiac CT imaging services provide patients with accurate and appropriate diagnostic medical imaging by a team of cardiac imaging specialists from radiology and cardiology.

Cardiac CT imaging can help detect cardiovascular problems, including:

• Aneurysms
• Cardiomyopathy
• Congenital defects
• Congestive heart failure
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart disease
• Pericarditis
• Valve disease

Cardiac MRI is an innovative service that provides patients with an effective method of determining causes of cardiac illness and malfunction.

Cardiac MRI shows clear, detailed images of the heart and examines the size, thickness and viability of the heart muscle and function of the chambers. It can also help detect tumors or areas of infection in adult and pediatric patients. Patients who benefit from cardiac MRI include those with a history of heart attacks or strokes, unexplained arrhythmias, congenital heart disease or aortic aneurysms.

Calcium deposits in the heart’s coronary arteries indicate the presence of coronary plaque, also known as atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease. Plaque can result in narrowing or blockages that can reduce blood flow to the heart and increase the risk for heart attack or stroke.

Test results of a coronary calcium CT scan are given as a score indicating the amount of calcium present as evidence of calcium buildup in the coronary artery.

Learn more about Coronary Calcium Scans

A wide range of inpatient and outpatient services are available including three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal studies - advanced techniques that allow doctors to see the heart in three dimensions, just as a surgeon would see it.

Echocardiography services

• 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography
• 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography
• Bicycle stress echo
• Interventional echocardiography
• Pharmacologic (dobutamine) stress echo
• Stress echocardiography
• Treadmill stress echo

Our physicians who specialize in nuclear cardiac imaging include leaders in the field who work to improve patient care using breakthrough nuclear technologies.

A staff highly trained in the use of advanced diagnostic equipment, including the hybrid single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT and digital positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, provides patients with the best clinical cardiovascular imaging as well as the development of imaging for personalized precision medical care.

Our SPECT 64-slice CT imaging system allows us to offer highly accurate images of blood flow to the heart with reduced radiation exposure that is superior to the current national standard. This novel hybrid system has improved image quality and diagnostic accuracy. Our SPECT/CT system also offers unique methods for determining if a patient has a heart condition known as cardiac amyloidosis.

Our digital PET/CT imaging system enables us to determine if patients have coronary artery disease and to evaluate if some patients would benefit from procedures to improve blood flow to the heart. Cardiac PET blood flow imaging is the only non-invasive method to accurately measure blood flow in the small vessels of the heart (microvascular blood flow). Using PET, we can further determine if patients with systemic sarcoidosis also have heart involvement.

Pediatric cardiologists also perform diagnostic procedures for children with known or suspected heart disease in the Neonatal or Pediatric Unit, reducing a family's need to travel to distant treatment centers. This service is currently offered at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and Bridgeport Hospital.

The tilt-table test is a simple, inexpensive, and informative test that can help identify the causes of fainting. As its name implies, the tilt table test involves placing a patient on a table with a foot-support, then tilting the table upward. The tilt-table may start off in a horizontal position and be tilted by degrees to a completely vertical position. The patient's blood pressure, pulse, and symptoms are monitored throughout the tilt-table test.