Here you can research a variety of cardiovascular healthcare topics. The Patient Education Center was designed to help you and other patients become better informed. Please browse through the information, joint down questions and bring them to your appointment. Being prepared will help you make the most of your visit to Heart Sciences Center.
Diagnostics/Treatment
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Heart Attack
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Valvular Heart Disease
- Mitral Valve Disease
- Pacemaker/Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)
- Stroke
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Artial Arrhythmias
- Angina Pectoria, Unstable
- Angina Pectoris, Stable
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Fainting (Syncope)
- Carotid Artery Disease
- Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
Day of Procedure Instructions
Please feel free to review and print these helpful instructions in preparation for your test.
- Echocardiogram (ECG)
Devices
- Stents
- Heart Assist Devices
- Rotation Atherectomy uses a tiny rotating cutting blade to open a narrowed artery and improve blood flow to or from the heart. Often a stent—a small tube made of metal mesh—is put in the artery to prevent it from re-narrowing.
- Pacemaker
Which Test is Right for Me?
- Calcium SCORE - This non-invasive test evaluates the risk of future cardiovascular events and allows patients to modify their lifestyle prior to developing cardiovascular disease.
- CTA - A non-invasive test that is used to determine if you have a blockage in the heart. It’s applied to patients with suspension of cardiovascular disease.
- Corus CAD -
Heart Sciences Center is the first cardiology practice in Arizona and one of the first institutions nationwide to offer a new innovative test to patients with suspected obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The Corus CAD gene expression test is a blood-based test that measures the expression levels, or activity, of 23 genes that have been demonstrated to indicate obstructive CAD. It gives your physician a score that indicates the likelihood that you have obstructive CAD. It also provides your physician with unique and objective information about what may be causing your chest pain. The test is simple, safe and convenient, requiring only a routine blood draw.
- Is Corus CAD right for me? It may be a good choice if you have…
- Stable chest pain
- No previous history of heart attack or bypass surgery
- No history of Diabetes
- Not currently taking steroids, immunosuppressive agents or Chemo
- Learn more about genetic testing:
- Is Corus CAD right for me? It may be a good choice if you have…
Common Medications
- Aspirin
- Plavix
- Nitroglycerin
- Beta Blockers are used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), congestive heart failure (CHF), abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), and chest pain (angina). Beta-blockers are sometimes used in heart attack patients to prevent future heart attacks.
- Calcium Channel Blockers are used to control high blood pressure (hypertension), chest pain (angina), and irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia).
- Ace Inhibitors are used to treat congestive heart failure (CHF) and high blood pressure (hypertension). You may also be given ACE inhibitors after you have had a heart attack, because some studies have shown that these medicines may prevent further damage to the heart muscle. ACE inhibitors are also prescribed for certain kinds of kidney problems, especially if you have diabetes.
- Ranexa
- Amiodarone
- Statins are drugs that can lower your cholesterol. They work by blocking a substance your body needs to make cholesterol. Statins may also help your body reabsorb cholesterol that has built up in plaques on your artery walls, preventing further blockage in your blood vessels and heart attacks.
- Coumadin
- Lipitor
Heart Disease Risk Assessment Tool
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This risk assessment tool, commonly used by cardiologists and other physicians, can help predict your risk of developing a heart attack or dying from coronary disease in the next 10 years. This tool is designed for people aged 20 years and older without known heart disease and who do not have diabetes.
The Heart Disease Risk Assessment Tool is based on findings from a major research project called the “Framingham Heart Study,” in which three generations of men and women from Framingham, Massachusetts were evaluated to better understand the causes of cardiovascular disease. The score takes your personal risk factors into consideration and tells you what your chances are for having heart attack or dying in the next 10 years. A risk score of 10% means that 10 out of 100 people in that risk category will have a heart attack or die within 10 years. The lower your score, the better.
- Click here to enter your data and learn what your results mean.
Lifestyle Changes - Downnload a free guide a to living a heart healthy lifestyle.
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Women’s cholesterol levels tend to rise as they age.