Frequently Asked Questions
- Why to choose STAR Diagnostics for your imaging needs?
Imaging plays a crucial role in diagnosing and treating a variety of medical conditions. At STAR Imaging Centre, radiology experts provide advanced imaging services and collaborate with other specialists to deliver optimal patient care.
STAR Diagnostics is a comprehensive medical centre, patients receive the added benefit of having their tests or studies interpreted by physicians who specialize in the particular areas of concern. This means that a patient's neurological testing is interpreted by a Neuroradiologist, for an orthopedic problem a muscular skeletal radiologist interprets tests, and so on.
- Why do I need to see a Cardiologist in addition to seeing my primary care physician?
Cardiologists are physicians who have specialized education and training in cardiology. They identify and treat cardiovascular problems. They review the patient's medical, family and social history to determine cardiovascular risk. They may order diagnostic testing to determine if symptoms are due to a cardiovascular cause. During the physical examination the cardiologist will listen closely to your heart as well as your neck, to identify any abnormalities. A cardiologist advises patients on heart disease prevention. Some of this advice will include smoking cessation, exercise, and eating right. The cardiologist does not take the place of your primary care physician; rather they work together with you and your primary care to ensure optimal cardiovascular health.
- When would I see a Cardiologist?
If your general medical doctor feels that you might have a significant heart or related condition, he or she will often call on a cardiologist for help. Symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pains, or dizzy spells often require special testing. Sometimes heart murmurs or ECG changes need the evaluation of a cardiologist. Cardiologists help victims of heart disease return to a full and useful life and also counsel patients about the risks and prevention of heart disease. Most importantly, cardiologists are involved in the treatment of heart attacks, heart failure, and serious heart rhythm disturbances. Their skills and training are required whenever decisions are made about procedures such as cardiac catheterization, balloon angioplasty, or heart surgery.
- How does the normal heart work?
The normal heart is composed of four chambers. The two upper chambers (called atriums or atria) are reservoirs which collect blood as it flows back to the heart. From the atriums, blood flows into the lower two chambers (called ventricles) which pump blood, with each heart beat, into the main arteries. From the right side of the heart one of these arteries (the pulmonary artery) carries blood to the lungs for re-oxygenation. The left side of the heart pumps blood into the other main artery (the aorta), which takes blood to the rest of the body.
The two ventricles and the two atriums are separated by partitions called 'septums'. The partition between the atriums is called the 'atrial septum' and the one separating the two ventricles is the 'ventricular septum'. Dark red deoxygenated blood (shown blue in diagram) returns to the right atrium from the body through the two main veins called the 'superior vena cava' and 'inferior vena cava'. It is pumped by the right ventricle to the lungs for replenishment with oxygen. The dark blood becomes bright red (shown red in diagram) in the lungs when oxygen is taken up. This red blood returns through two veins from each lung, to the left atrium and is pumped by the left ventricle to the body again.
The heart has its own internal pacemaker which controls its rhythmical beating. It creates an electrical impulse which causes firstly the atriums, and secondly the ventricles, to contract in turn. With each contraction the blood is pumped, then the heart muscle relaxes and the chambers refill with blood, ready for the next contraction.
- What is an angioplasty or coronary intervention?
Angioplasty or coronary intervention involves clearing a blockage in your coronary artery either with a balloon or some other device. Usually a stent is placed after the angioplasty.
What heart diseases afflict children?
Approximately one in 10 or 12 children are born with a congenital heart defect.
Congenital heart defects include a number of conditions. There are hundreds of types and making a precise diagnosis is sometimes quite challenging. The common heart defects include:
- Holes or communications in the heart or great vessels: Examples of such holes in the heart include: atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
- Conditions resulting in the child becoming a blue baby: These conditions are also known as cyanotic heart defects. Common examples include tetralogy of Fallot's (TOF) and transposition (TGA).
- Congenital narrowing of heart valves or vessels: Examples include congenital narrowing of the pulmonary or aortic valve.
Thirty percent of congenital heart defects are potentially life threatening early in life require and attention in infancy. Rheumatic heart disease continues to afflict large numbers of school-going children and young adults in India and other developing countries. This condition seriously damages heart valves and many children eventually require an operation or balloon procedure in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
- How congenital heart diseases develop?
In most cases we do not know what causes congenital heart disease to develop. The parent's should not feel that it is their fault for having a child with this problem. Rarely, a viral infection in the mother during the first few months of pregnancy may produce a serious heart problem (for example if the mothers gets German Measles during the first three months of pregnancy, the child's heart may not develop normally)
Heredity sometimes plays a role. More than one child in a family may have a congenital heart defect, but this is rare. Certain conditions that affect multiple organs, such as Down's syndrome (Mongolism), can also affect the heart. Some drugs can also affect heart development if consumed during early pregnancy. Alcohol consumption can also affect heart development.
- What are the common symptoms of heart disease in children?
The possible pointers to heart disease in infants (less than one year age) include:
Congenital heart defects include a number of conditions. There are hundreds of types and making a precise diagnosis is sometimes quite challenging. The common heart defects include:
- Difficulty with feeding
- Excessive sweating
- Breathing difficulty
- Blueness of lips, fingers and toes
- Poor growth
- Frequent episodes of chest infection
Sometimes heart disease may be first identified during a routine check-up by your pediatrician.
- What is required for care of children with heart disease?
Care of children with heart disease requires a highly coordinated effort from a team of specially trained personnel. Pediatric cardiologists, pediatric cardiac surgeons, intensive care physicians and intensive care nurses should ideally constitute this team. In additions, a variety of sophisticated and very expensive equipment are required. Establishing an infrastructure for care of children with heart disease involves substantial investments and few institutions in India are able to afford it.
- Can heart defects be closed without surgery?
Many heart defects need an operation for their treatment and often this is an open-heart operation. Today newer developments in cardiac catheterization technology allow closure of selected patients with heart defects without an operation. This avoids the trauma of surgery and allows very rapid recovery. Examples of these heart defects include the atrial septal defect (ASD), the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and selected patients with ventricular septal defects. The procedures are performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory and require no more than a needle prick in the groin.
- What is peripheral vascular disease?
Many heart defects need an operation for their treatment and often this is an open-heart operation. Today newer developments in cardiac catheterization technology allow closure of selected patients with heart defects without an operation. This avoids the trauma of surgery and allows very rapid recovery. Examples of these heart defects include the atrial septal defect (ASD), the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and selected patients with ventricular septal defects. The procedures are performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory and require no more than a needle prick in the groin.
- Who is at risk for peripheral artery disease?
The risk of developing peripheral artery disease increases with age; people over the age of 50 are at increased risk of developing PAD. Your risk also increases if you smoke; have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol; or have had heart disease, a heart attack or a stroke. African Americans have a higher risk of developing PAD.
- What are the symptoms of peripheral artery disease?
The most common symptoms of PAD are cramping, pain or tiredness in the leg or hip muscles while walking or climbing stairs. The symptoms stop when you rest. Other symptoms may include numbness or tingling in the legs, burning or aching pain in the feet and toes while resting, or a sore on your leg or foot that doesn't heal.