In recognition of February as National Heart Month, staff at Tyrone Hospital want to review the services the hospital provides to diagnose and monitor conditions of the heart.
“People have access to heart specialists as well as the tests that physicians routinely order to evaluate the heart right here at Tyrone Hospital,” said Shirley Kooken, Technical Director of Cardiopulmonary Services.
Two cardiologists (heart specialists) from Altoona Regional Health System, V. Janakiraman, M.D. and Mukul Bhatnagar, M.D. practice at Tyrone Hospital. Their Tyrone practice is in addition to their practice in Altoona. Between them the cardiologists have provided services in Tyrone for more than twenty-three years.
Outpatient Services available at Tyrone Hospital to evaluate the heart include electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiography, and holter monitoring.
EKG is a test that provides information about the electrical activity of the heart.
Echocardiography generates an image of the moving heart at different angles. Physicians use echocardiography to evaluate many conditions including the extent of damage following a heart attack, heart murmur, valve dysfunctions, size and thickness of the heart and chamber function, congenital defects, congestive heart problems, coronary artery disease, cardio myopathy, abnormal heart rhythm, heart infection as well as to monitor the way the heart is responding to treatment or a corrective procedure.
Holter monitoring, is a device a patient wears for twenty-four hours or more. It provides information about how a patient’s heart functions when they are doing daily activities such as unloading their groceries, climbing stairs or eating dinner.
Physicians may order these tests individually, or in some combination depending on the patients’ unique medical needs.
People can use the outpatient heart diagnostic services at Tyrone Hospital (or for that matter, any of the hospital’s outpatient services) regardless of where their physician is located.
“If your physician orders tests for you, you can request to have them performed at Tyrone Hospital; sometimes people do not realize that they can choose where to go for their outpatient testing,” said Kooken. “We will send test results to physicians, wherever they are located.”
Tyrone Hospital is a participating provider in most major health insurances. People are advised to check their health insurance or call the hospital to verify if Tyrone Hospital is a participating provider in their particular health insurance plan.
For more information about the services offered at Tyrone Hospital to evaluate heart health, contact Kooken at 684-6317.
