Beaumont celebrates cardiovascular week

Sgt. 1st Class Everet Taylor
Cardiology Services, WBAMC

Cardiovascular professionals are a diverse group that includes echo cardiographers, EKG (echocardiogram) and cardiac catheterization technicians.

Together with physicians and nurses, these William Beaumont Army Medical Center technicians in the cardiology service provide outstanding health care to more than 63,000 beneficiaries, including active duty and their family members, retirees and their family members and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries as inpatients or outpatients. Often, their work goes unnoticed but not in the coming week, as healthcare workers around the world observe Cardiovascular Professionals Week, Feb. 9-15.

These technicians assist the cardiologist in providing non-invasive testing, outpatient consultative services, and regular outpatient follow up to cardiology patients.

Cardiac catheterization technicians work in a stressful environment that involves life and death situations related to acute myocardial infarction and other heart related illnesses. They assist cardiologists and "cath lab" nurses in performing different invasive procedures such as diagnosis, angioplasty, intra-coronary stenting, intra-aortic balloon pump placement, and permanent and temporary pacemaker implantation.

During these procedures, the technician must anticipate the cardiologists needs and respond quickly to changes in the patient's condition. The radiology and monitoring equipment in the cath lab is highly sophisticated and requires detailed training and experience.

The echocardiographers perform ultrasound imaging of the heart called an echocardiogram. The cardiologist uses these images to evaluate important valvular disease or other structural heart disease. This information is invaluable in guiding the management of the patient.

EKG technicians do EKGs - a measurement of the electrical activity of the heart performed by placement of electrodes at multiple locations on the body. This can be done during rest (12-lead EKG), during daily activity (Holter and Event monitoring), and during exercise (treadmill stress testing). EKG technicians are skilled in the knowledge of cardiac rhythms, stress testing and the computer systems and software necessary to record and process this information.

Both echocardiographers and EKG technicians combine their skills in the performance of a procedure called a treadmill stress echo. This involves a standard treadmill stress test with ultrasound images prior to and immediately after stress.

In addition to the Beaumont patient care mission, these technicians have a teaching mission. They provide training to the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Military Cardiovascular Specialty Course (91WY6). Established in 2001, between three and five military cardiovascular technicians are trained yearly at Beaumont. The students rotate from the cardiology clinic to cath lab.

During an average year, the cardiology service can boast that the cath lab performed nearly 650 procedures. The clinic performs 1,700 echocardiograms, 2,400 EKGs, 500 Holter and Event monitors, and 650 stress tests and stress-echos.

The cardiovascular professional's job is diverse and demanding. They are well trained and educated in their area of expertise. Their services are paramount in the delivery of health care to all of our beneficiaries.