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You may be wondering what happens when physicians makes rounds in the hospital in this current era of hand held technology and point-of-care testing. Traditionally, cardiologists have relied on their eyes, ears (stethoscope) and hands in order to assess patients and make diagnoses. This is of course supplemented by imaging of the heart in specialized areas of the hospital.

Over the last few months, our cardiology group has been using a battery operated pocket-sized cardiac ultrasound imaging system that transforms ultrasound waves into real-time images on a very small monitor. This has enabled us to evaluate most of the functions of the heart at the bedside (such as in the ER) and thus arrive at a plan of care in a more timely fashion.

In urgent situations, such imaging can be enormously helpful in providing crucial information about heart function. It has also been particularly gratifying to present patients with a more realistic answer to their usual question: “Doc, how is my heart doing?”. Patient’s can also see images of their own heart as the study is being performed. Needless to say, this does require some expertise in the scanning and interpretation of the images, so it is not for everyone.

Going forward, we hope to use this technology in the education of our resident trainees by providing instant feedback on their cardiac exam skills and to leverage the imaging functions to improve our decisions concerning the discharge of patients with complex chronic conditions such as heart failure.

Overview of Cardiology Services 

Dr. Michele A. Turek
Deputy Head, Division of Cardiology
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine

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