Our Technology

The Heart & Vascular Institute at Sacred Heart Hospital provides state-of-the-art heart and vascular services.

Among our key technologies are:

• Stress testing, an examination revealing information about the blockage of blood flow to the heart

• Cardiac catheterization, the process of viewing the heart by entering a thin tube into a vein or artery and passing it into the heart

• Angiogram, an X-ray of the heart assisted by a liquid introduced through a catheter

• Nuclear cardiology cameras, scanning devices that produce a digital image of your heart, which allows cardiologists to evaluate your cardiac function

• Flat plate cameras, the most up-to-date technology for providing clear images to aid in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease

• Echocardiography, a procedure using sound waves to evaluate heart function

• Holter monitoring, a portable diagnostic tool used to record heart rhythm and rate

• Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, evaluation done on an outpatient basis to monitor for blood pressure problems

• Carotid stenting, a procedure in which a small, metal mesh tube is placed inside the carotid artery at the site of a blockage to provide support and keep the artery open
  

• Pacemaker placement, a surgical procedure performed in our Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in which a small device is placed under the skin to regulate a patient’s heartbeat

• Trans Esophageal Echocardiogram, an imaging test that uses ultrasound to look at the heart’s structures and blood flow. It does so from a tube passed into the esophagus.

• MERCI Retrieval System. We offer western Wisconsin’s only use of the life-saving MERCI (Mechanical Embolus Removal in Cerebral Ischemia) Retrieval System. In emergency stroke cases, this technology provides hope when the window of opportunity for conventional drug therapy has closed.