'blood sugars'

Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat certain types of aortic aneurysms and dissections. It is an alternative to open surgery and involves the placement of a stent graft inside the aorta to reinforce and stabilize the weakened or damaged section of the vessel. Advantages of EVAR over traditional open surgery include shorter hospital stays, reduced blood loss, faster recovery times, and lower overall morbidity and mortality rates. However, not all patients with aortic aneurysms or dissections are suitable candidates for EVAR. Factors such as the size, location, and shape of the aneurysm, as well as the patient's overall health, are taken into consideration when determining the most appropriate treatment approach.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a diagnostic procedure that is used during cardiac catheterization. Unlike ultrasound, which uses sound waves to produce an image of the blood vessels, OCT uses light. With OCT, doctors can obtain images of the blood vessels that are about the same as if they were looking under a microscope. The main applications of the OCT system are: 1. Atherosclerotic plaque assessment 2. Stent struts coverage and apposition assessment, and in stent restenosis evaluation 3. PCI guide and optimisation

Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a technique used in coronary catheterization to measure pressure differences across a coronary artery stenosis (narrowing, usually due to atherosclerosis) to determine the likelihood that the stenosis impedes oxygen delivery to the heart muscle. Fractional flow reserve is defined as the pressure after (distal to) a stenosis relative to the pressure before the stenosis.[citation needed] The result is an absolute number; an FFR of 0.80 means that a given stenosis causes a 20% drop in blood pressure. In other words, FFR expresses the maximal flow down a vessel in the presence of a stenosis compared to the maximal flow in the hypothetical absence of the stenosis.

Your heart’s arteries can become blocked or narrowed from a buildup of cholesterol, cells or other substances (plaque). This can reduce blood flow to your heart and cause chest discomfort. Sometimes a blood clot can suddenly form or get worse and completely block blood flow, leading to a heart attack. Angioplasty opens blocked arteries and restores normal blood flow to your heart muscle. It is not major surgery. It is done by threading a catheter (thin tube) through a small puncture in a leg or arm artery to the heart. The blocked artery is opened by inflating a tiny balloon in it.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) measures your blood pressure over the course of a full day (24 hours). You will wear a blood pressure cuff on your upper arm that is connected to a monitor. The monitor records your blood pressure readings 3 times per hour while awake and 1 time per hour while sleeping. Measuring your blood pressure in your normal environment and during your usual daily routines gives your doctor a better idea of how your blood pressure changes throughout the day. Some reasons for having ABPM: 1. White coat hypertension: high blood pressure in clinic settings (around medical staff or doctors) with lower blood pressure outside of clinic. 2. High blood pressure without a diagnosis of hypertension: blood pressure may be high sometimes and more blood pressure measurements are needed. 3. Hypertension medicine assessment: to make sure your blood pressure medicines are working as they should all day. 4. Assess symptoms - such as lightheadedness, dizziness, or headaches, to check if these are due to blood pressure.

A stress test, sometimes called a treadmill test or exercise test, helps a doctor find out how well your heart handles work. As your body works harder during the test, it requires more oxygen, so the heart must pump more blood. The test can show if the blood supply is reduced in the arteries that supply the heart. It also helps doctors know the kind and level of exercise appropriate for a patient. A person taking the test is hooked up to equipment to monitor the heart, walks slowly in place on a treadmill. Then the speed is increased for a faster pace and the treadmill is tilted to produce the effect of going up a small hill. Afterwards will sit or lie down to have their heart and blood pressure checked.

Echocardiography, also called an echo test or heart ultrasound,is a test that takes “moving pictures” of the heart with sound waves. An echo uses sound waves to create pictures of your heart’s chambers, valves, walls and the blood vessels (aorta, arteries, veins) attached to your heart. A probe called a transducer is passed over your chest. The probe produces sound waves that bounce off your heart and “echo” back to the probe. These waves are changed into pictures viewed on a video monitor. Your doctor may use an echo test to look at your heart’s structure and check how well your heart functions. The test helps your doctor find out: The size and shape of your heart, and the size, thickness and movement of your heart’s walls. How your heart moves. The heart’s pumping strength. If the heart valves are working correctly. If blood is leaking backwards through your heart valves (regurgitation). If the heart valves are too narrow (stenosis). If there is a tumor or infectious growth around your heart valves.

An electrocardiogram — abbreviated as EKG or ECG — is a test that measures the electrical activity of the heartbeat. With each beat, an electrical impulse (or “wave”) travels through the heart. This wave causes the muscle to squeeze and pump blood from the heart. A normal heartbeat on ECG will show the timing of the top and lower chambers. The right and left atria or upper chambers make the first wave called a “P wave" — following a flat line when the electrical impulse goes to the bottom chambers. The right and left bottom chambers or ventricles make the next wave called a “QRS complex." The final wave or “T wave” represents electrical recovery or return to a resting state for the ventricles. Why is it done? An ECG gives two major kinds of information. First, by measuring time intervals on the ECG, a doctor can determine how long the electrical wave takes to pass through the heart. Finding out how long a wave takes to travel from one part of the heart to the next shows if the electrical activity is normal or slow, fast or irregular. Second, by measuring the amount of electrical activity passing through the heart muscle, a cardiologist may be able to find out if parts of the heart are too large or are overworked.