by Modern testing is now available to heart patients in Northeast Georgia, which may help identify a rare but possibly fatal infection without having to travel outside the area.
The first hospital in Northeast Georgia to provide PET/CT imaging for the diagnosis of endocarditis in pacemaker or implanted defibrillator wire leads is Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) in Gainesville. Modern technology helps physicians identify infections that are difficult to diagnose and might not be detected by conventional testing.
According to Dr. Vedang Bhavsar, a cardiologist with Georgia Heart Institute and the medical director of Echo/Vascular and Nuclear Cardiology Imaging for Northeast Georgia Health System, the likelihood of infections involving these devices has increased as patient life expectancy has been greatly increased. For certain patients, this PET/CT imaging procedure may literally save their lives if the results of other tests are unclear.Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville is home to the Georgia Heart Institute. (NowHabersham.com)
At NGMC Gainesville, the entire procedure can be managed on-site, providing patients with expedited access to testing and therapy while being monitored by their cardiologist.
The hospital’s extensive expansion of cardiac and vascular services includes the additional diagnostic capability. The 11-story Green Tower at NGMC Gainesville, which completed earlier this year, has surgical rooms, improved imaging capabilities, and new cardiac catheterization labs.
NGMC Gainesville now provides cardiac viability scans and screening for cardiac sarcoidosis, a rare inflammatory disease, in addition to testing for infections linked to pacemakers.
According to Dr. Bhavsar, we currently provide every nuclear cardiology test that is accessible in the industry. Our goal of enhancing community health is made possible by these services.
