Our Services
CHD are highly experienced in the delivery of heart screening for adults and young people.
Each person booked onto the screening programme will receive a resting electrocardiogram (ECG), and an Echocardiogram (Echo) if required. These tests are described below.
Resting Electrocardiogram (ECG)
A basic test that is used to check your heart’s rhythm and electrical activity. An ECG can be used alongside other tests to help diagnose and monitor conditions of the heart. An ECG can also be used to investigate symptoms of a potential heart problem such as chest pain, palpitations, dizziness and shortness of breath.An ECG can also help detect the following:
- Arrhythmias
- Coronary heart disease
- Heart attacks
- Cardiomyopathy
Echocardiogram (echo or ultrasound)
This is a scan used to look at the heart and nearby blood vessels. An ecocardiogram can help diagnose and monitor certain heart conditions by checking the structure of the heart and surrounding blood vessels, analysing how blood flows through them, and assessment the pumping chambers of the heart.An echocardiogram can help detect the following:
- Damage from a heart attack
- Heart failure
- Congenital heart diease
- Problems with the heart valves
- Cardiomyopathy
- Endocarditis
The Screening Process
Heart screening session is booked via. CHD where an appropriate date and location is agreed with the client.
CHD work with the client to organise appointment slots for each patient, at a convenient time for them. Appointments will run from 9:00am – 5:00pm.
CHD will set up the clinic at the agreed client location which include the following; a consultation area, 3 ECG screening cubicles, 1 echo cubicle, a patient waiting area and a registration desk.
At the dedicated time, individuals arrive for their appointments and check in at the registration desk. This involves CHD ticking each appointment off the list, and making sure medical questionnaires and consent forms are complete. Individual at the registration desk puts patient information into a file and into the ECG box ready for the physiologists.
Individual gets ECG with physiologist (around 5-10 minutes), and returns back to the waiting area. Physiologist prints out ECG results, puts back in patient file and puts the patient file in a pile at the consultation area ready for the consultant to analyse.
Consultant reviews the patient file, calls patient in for consultation and communicates decision of the ECG. There are two decisions here. A) patient ECG is either unclear or showing abnormalities and they are referred for Echo or B) patient ECG shows no signs of concern and they complete the screening process.
If A. Individual is referred back to waiting area and patient file is passed on to echo physiologist who then calls patient back into for an echocardiogram (around 15-20 minutes). Once the test is complete individual is referred back to the waiting area, until consultant calls patient in to communicate results of the echo.
If B. Screening process is complete and individual leaves the clinic.
Patient has consultation with cardiologist who communicates decision of the echo. There are two decisions. A) individual is showing no signs of concern and they compete the screening process or B) consultation is still concerned and recommends a letter to the GP.
CHD send referral letters to GPs for patients recommended by the cardiologist at the screening. This is typically around 10-20% of the total number of patients during the screening day.
Based on the information provided from the screening day, the GP will make a decision for further action for the patient.
*This is our standard screening format and will be tailored to meet the needs of the patient.
