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Echocardiogram

Quick, safe and easy.

The Procedure

Echocardiography is an ultrasound examination of the heart. It is readily available, takes 20 to 30 minutes to perform and involves no exposure to radiation. At the Pinnacle Health Sciences Centre, echocardiography is available with a wait time that is generally less than 1 week and where you can count on getting the study done with a highly trained technologist using the latest equipment.

Echocardiography may be ordered by your doctor for any one of a number of reasons. These include:

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  1. Newly discovered murmur by your physician
  2. Known or suspected narrowing (stenosis) of the heart valves, such as aortic or mitral stenosis
  3. Known or suspected leakiness (insufficiency/regurgitation) of the heart valves
  4. Follow up after surgery to replace or repair a heart valve (prosthetic valve assessment)
  5. Ischemic heart disease to assess the degree to which heart muscle may have been damaged by a previous myocardial infarction (heart attack)
  6. High blood pressure (hypertension) to look for signs of abnormal stress to the heart such as thickening of the wall
  7. Abnormality suspected at the time of routine ECG
  8. Looking for a cause for suspected or proven stroke (emboli or shunts)
  9. Unexplained loss of consciousness (syncope)
  10. Irregular heartbeat and palpitations

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(Source: British Society of Echocardiography)

Ultrasound Procedures

Quick, safe and easy.

The Procedure

As ultrasound images are acquired digitally, your images can be provided to you on a CD-ROM, so you can take them to your referring physician or specialist, if necessary. We can also provide our obstetric patients with a copy of their baby’s images through a printed picture.

Why Choose Us?

The quality of the ultrasound image is dependent upon the quality of the equipment as well as the experience of the technologist. We are proud of the fact that we employ state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment and that our ultrasound technologists are highly experienced with many of them possessing doctorate degrees. As a result, our radiology unit presents its patients and their attending physicians with the cleanest possible image, resulting in a better diagnostic and treatment process.

The Benefits

  • Safe – An ultrasound emits no ionizing radiation. It may be all you need.
  • Effective – An ultrasound has comparable or superior diagnostic capability in a growing number of imaging scenarios making it the smart diagnostic choice.
  • Affordable – An ultrasound is an inexpensive and portable tool that can provide faster diagnosis. Image more for less.

Ultrasounds at the Pinnacle Health Sciences Centre include:

  1. General Ultrasound
  2. Obstetric Ultrasound
  3. Vascular Ultrasound (Carotid Doppler, Deep Vein Thrombosis , Aortic Aneurysms)
  4. Musculoskeletal Ultrasounds

X-Ray Procedures

Quick, safe and easy.

The Procedure

Radiographs are captured digitally, so your physician can have access to the images within minutes of completion of the study. Your x-ray images can be provided to you on a CD-ROM because they are captured digitally.  If required, you will be able to take your x-ray images to your referring physician or specialist.

As a modern facility, we have state-of-the-art digital equipment, providing excellent resolution to facilitate an accurate diagnosis from your attending physician. X-Rays is done on a walk-in basis. 


Family Physicians

The Pinnacle Health Sciences Centre uses an innovative service model to work with our patients to develop a comprehensive care plan for our patients. We team our family physicians together with a group of interdisciplinary health care professionals to provide you with the best care possible. Pinnacle is home to a number of highly qualified family physicians and paediatricians who are devoted to helping their patients and providing a level of care that is representative of the values and mission of the medical clinic.