Strong hearts and lungs are essential to good health. You can count on Yavapai Regional Medical Center’s (YRMC’s) Cardiopulmonary Laboratory for state-of-the-art technology to prevent, identify and treat acute or chronic conditions of the heart and lungs. Our medical professionals also perform neurological exams that evaluate the brain’s physical condition.
Patients of all ages receive diagnostic evaluation and therapy at YRMC’s Cardiopulmonary Laboratory, both as inpatients and outpatients. Every member of the Cardiopulmonary Services team has attained professional certification. Our nurses, respiratory therapists, cardiac sonographers, pulmonary function technicians and electroencephalogram (EEG) technicians work closely with your physician. Our goals are to provide you the best information and to implement prescribed therapies.
Cardiac (Heart)
The Cardiopulmonary Lab team performs a variety of cardiac (heart) diagnostic services. Your physician may recommend one or more of the following tests and therapies:
This procedure helps restore a normal heart rhythm for people who have certain types of arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat). Cardioversion is painless and is done by sending electric shocks to your heart through electrodes on your chest.
This test – also called an ECHO – evaluates and documents the heart’s size, pumping capability, and valve function. It also detects heart murmurs.
An EKG or ECG records electrical signals as they travel through your heart. Your doctor uses this information to identify patterns among the heartbeats and rhythms and then diagnose various heart conditions.
This medical device records the heart's electrical activity, allowing doctors to detect problems like arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).
Your physician may ask that you wear this portable device to continuously monitor your heart for 24-48 hours. This device tracks disturbances in the heart’s rhythm.
This is a test of the main arteries in the arms and/or legs to check for narrowing or blockages as well as to determine the severity of the blockage.
If you have a pacemaker, your physician may want it evaluated to ensure it’s working properly. No surgery is needed to check your pacemaker. At YRMC’s Cardiopulmonary Lab, one of our team members will place a special programming device over the pacemaker (through your clothing) to read its settings. In some cases, pacemaker checks may be done remotely.
This is an evaluation of how the heart responds during stressful situations. During this test, the heart may be stimulated by exercise or medicine.
This test helps diagnose patients experiencing episodes of fainting or dizziness. A patient undergoing this exam is secured to a flat table that simulates changes in position, such as lying down to standing up. The equipment records the body’s cardiovascular response to the changes in position.
During an echocardiogram (ECHO), a YRMC technician takes images of the heart’s valves and chambers using an endoscope. An ECHO can provide information about a patient’s cardiac valves, check for endocarditis (heart infection) and evaluate the heart for other possible problems.
Neurology (Brain)
The Cardiopulmonary Lab team performs the following tests to provide information about the function of the brain to patients’ physicians:
This test records the background electrical activity occurring in the brain by attaching small, flat metal discs (electrodes) to your brain. An EEG is used to diagnose certain brain disorders.
Respiratory (Lungs)
YRMC’s Respiratory Care team pursues the following exams and therapies to help people with acute or chronic conditions of the cardiopulmonary system – the heart and lungs:
This test checks a patient’s oxygen needs, both while at rest and while exercising by measuring the oxygen level of circulating blood.
This lung-function test provides information to diagnose asthma and other reactive airway conditions.
An asthma-management tool that measures a patient’s airway inflammation simply by exhaling into a mouthpiece attached to a small monitor. This test helps determine the cause of asthma so your physician can select the medicine that will work best for you.
This treatment helps remove secretions in the lungs. It’s particularly helpful to people who have undergone surgery to re-expand collapsed lung tissues.
This is a non-invasive method of measuring the blood’s oxygen saturation, which should be 95 percent.
This lung-function test measures the volume of a patient’s breath, how fast he or she can move the air in that breath, and how well breathing medications are working.