Caritas Baby Hospital provides a number of cardiology services:
- Echocardiography:
This is the most widely used test for the diagnosis of heart diseases in children, as well as for assessing the course of the disease for children who have already been diagnosed with heart problems. This test uses ultrasound to develop images of the child’s heart and can be performed on children of all ages, including premature babies and newborns.
This test can diagnose any of the following cardiac disorders: heart murmur, chest pain, aneurysm, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease and congestive heart failure.
- Treadmill Stress Test:
The treadmill stress test measures the effect of exercise on a child’s heart. The test is carried out by connecting a child – above 5 years - on a treadmill to an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor. During the exercise, which takes 45 to 60 minutes, changes in the heart rhythm, heart rate, blood pressure, heart function and other symptoms are recorded.
- Holter Monitoring:
A Holter monitor records a child’s electrocardiogram (EKG) continually over a 24-hour period. The EKG measures the electrical beats of the child’s heart. The patient wears the monitor during his/her regular daily activities - going to school or playing at home - for one full day. The results of this test help to diagnose irregular heart rhythms, or ischemia, a lack of oxygen-rich blood flowing to the heart because of a clog in an artery.
- Event Recorder:
The event recorder is a small device that records the heart’s rhythm. Event recording is similar to Holter monitoring, as it is also used to track symptoms such as fast heart rhythms, dizziness and chest pain. However, this monitor only records a heart rhythm when a child feels symptoms and pushes a button on the event monitor, instead of continuously recording the heart rhythms.