Non-invasive Imaging & Inpatient Cardiac Stress Testing

By Rumman Langah, MD, FACP, FHM

Being trained and board-certified in nuclear medicine and nuclear cardiology, non-invasive imaging and cardiac stress testing has been an area of profound interest to me. As practicing hospitalists, we usually get called from our colleagues in emergency department to admit patients presenting with chest pain (possible angina or angina equivalent). Most of the time, we end up admitting patients for observation and inpatient stress testing without a clear understanding of the risk stratification process and the choice of stress test, if indicated.

At Hospital Medicine 2016 in San Diego, I will discuss the risk stratification process, provide a brief review of the available stress test modalities considering their strengths and limitations, and assist you to choose the most appropriate stress test for your patient.

You will also find this presentation useful to recognize a particular stress test’s accuracy to rule out obstructive coronary artery disease in patients without known coronary artery disease, known coronary artery disease and with other comorbidities. At the end of this activity, you will feel confident educating your patients and peers regarding the prognosis of a normal or an abnormal test. In addition, you will learn preparation pearls for stress testing, radiation dosimetry of various tests and possible explanations to other common queries related to inpatient cardiac stress testing and noninvasive imaging.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at my HM16 Rapid Fire Track session entitled, “Non-invasive Imaging and Inpatient Cardiac Stress Testing: What the Hospitalist Should Know” in room 6A on March 9^th at 11:15 AM.