Cardiac Health Services
Questions about heart tests?
Battle Creek Health System provides a variety of tests which your doctor might prescribe to analyze the condition of your heart. Select from the dropdown list below to read more information about the different tests available.
What you need to know about Heart Care
There are many forms of heart disease affecting
millions of people every year. In fact, coronary artery disease
is the number one ailment nationwide.
 The
cause of coronary artery disease is associated with the buildup
of fatty deposits in the coronary arteries, resulting in narrowing
of the arteries and decreased blood supply to the heart muscle.
Risk factors play an important role in the occurrence
of heart disease as well, and include such variables as family
history, smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure,
stress, sedentary lifestyle, age and gender.
Today, more than ever, heart disease can be
detected early, before damage has taken place.
The Heart
The normal heart has four chambers. On the
right side are the right atrium and right ventricle, which
receive blood from the body and pump it to the lungs. The
left chambers are the left atrium and left ventricle. They
receive blood from the lungs, after it has been replenished
with oxygen, and pump it back out to the body.
Vessels carrying blood from the heart to the
body are called arteries. Vessels carrying blood from the
body back to the heart are called veins.
Treating heart disease requires proper evaluation,
gained by early diagnosis. Under the care of a physician,
certain tests may be given to determine the presence and severity
of heart disease.
Battle Creek Health System's Cardiac Health Services
provides complete diagnostic services, including Echocardiograms,
Electrocardiograms, Nuclear Cardiac Imaging and Treadmill
Stress Tests, 24-hour and 14-day Holter Monitoring and Heart
Catheterization. (See "Questions about heart tests" at the top of this page for more information.)
If the results of any one of these diagnostic
procedures indicate the presence of heart disease, appropriate
treatment will follow.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is the number one killer in the
United States. In 1990, close to 1.5 million Americans died
from their first or repeat heart attacks. Most of these victims
are at the middle aged years.
Heart disease (or coronary artery disease or CAD)
is progressive and usually slow, taking many years to build
up. As it progresses, the normal flow of blood to the heart
muscle is slowed, causing inadequate oxygen supply to the
heart muscle.
The most common reason is a build up of cholesterol
and other fatty substances on the inside of the arteries.
This causes a narrowing of the center of the artery. This
build up is known as atherosclerosis.
Heart disease untreated eventually becomes a
danger to your health and can cause a heart attack or sudden
death.
CARDIAC CARE SERVICES
300 North Avenue
Battle Creek, Ml 49016
269-966-8199
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