Yale New Haven Heart and Vascular Center offers virtually every type of advanced cardiac imaging technology, including echocardiography, ultrasound, cardiac molecular nuclear medicine imaging inclusive of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT scans).
Patients who come to Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) benefit from our unique collaboration of experts. Our Cardiac Imaging Center is jointly staffed by cardiologists and radiologists with extensive cardiac imaging expertise making it one of the first in the country to adopt this integrated approach. Our specialists are nationally and internationally recognized experts who diagnose heart and blood vessel problems using the most advanced noninvasive and minimally invasive approaches.
Our goal is to provide the right cardiovascular test for the right patient at the right time, including state-of-the-art tests not widely available. Using a broad variety of imaging tests, including echocardiography, nuclear cardiac imaging, cardiac CT and cardiac MRI, our physicians can evaluate a variety of problems including:
Our noninvasive cardiovascular imaging services are available at the York Street Campus and Saint Raphael Campus of YNHH as well as at our outpatient facilities in North Haven, Branford, Guilford, Westbrook, Orange and Norwich.
Cardiac CT and MRI services at YNHH have been recognized nationally and accredited by the American College of Radiology. The YNHH Nuclear Cardiology and Stress Laboratory, which includes cardiac SPECT and PET imaging program, Echocardiography Laboratory and advanced vascular imaging, is accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission.
Yale New Haven Hospital's accredited Advanced Vascular Imaging Services combines the resources of the hospital's main diagnostic radiology group provide the most advanced technology and expertise to diagnose vascular disease.
Learn more about Advanced Vascular ImagingCardiac computed tomography, or cardiac CT, is a noninvasive cardiac imaging test that uses X-rays to take detailed pictures of the heart and blood vessels.
Our cardiac CT imaging services provide patients with accurate and appropriate diagnostic medical imaging by a team of cardiac imaging specialists from radiology and cardiology.
Cardiac CT imaging can help detect cardiovascular problems, including:
Cardiac MRI at Yale New Haven Hospital is an innovative service that provides patients with an effective method of determining causes of cardiac illness and malfunction.
Cardiac MRI shows clear, detailed images of the heart and examines the size, thickness and viability of the heart muscle and function of the chambers. It can also help detect tumors or areas of infection in adult and pediatric patients. Patients who benefit from cardiac MRI include those with a history of heart attacks or strokes, unexplained arrhythmias, congenital heart disease or aortic aneurysms.
Calcium deposits in the heart’s coronary arteries indicate the presence of coronary plaque, also known as atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease. Plaque can result in narrowing or blockages that can reduce blood flow to the heart and increase the risk for heart attack or stroke.
Test results of a coronary calcium CT scan are given as a score indicating the amount of calcium present as evidence of calcium buildup in the coronary artery.
The Echocardiography Laboratory at Yale New Haven provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services including three-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal studies - advanced techniques that allow doctors to see the heart in three dimensions, just as a surgeon would see it.
Echocardiography services
2-dimensional and 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography
2-dimensional and 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography
Bicycle stress echo
Interventional echocardiography
Pharmacologic (dobutamine) stress echo
Stress echocardiography
Treadmill stress echo
The Nuclear Cardiology and Stress Laboratory at Yale New Haven Hospital has been integral to developing, over the past several decades, many nuclear imaging techniques used widely worldwide today. Our physicians who specialize in nuclear cardiac imaging include leaders in the field who work to improve patient care using breakthrough nuclear technologies.
A staff highly trained in the use of advanced diagnostic equipment, including the hybrid single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT and digital positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, provides patients with the best clinical cardiovascular imaging as well as the development of imaging for personalized precision medical care.
Our SPECT 64-slice CT imaging system allows us to offer highly accurate images of blood flow to the heart with reduced radiation exposure that is superior to the current national standard. This novel hybrid system has improved image quality and diagnostic accuracy. Our SPECT/CT system also offers unique methods for determining if a patient has a heart condition known as cardiac amyloidosis.
Our digital PET/CT imaging system enables us to determine if patients have coronary artery disease and to evaluate if some patients would benefit from procedures to improve blood flow to the heart. Cardiac PET blood flow imaging is the only non-invasive method to accurately measure blood flow in the small vessels of the heart (microvascular blood flow). Using PET, we can further determine if patients with systemic sarcoidosis also have heart involvement.
Cardiac CT and MRI services at YNHH have been recognized nationally and accredited by the American College of Radiology. The YNHH Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory (including cardiac SPECT and PET imaging program, and the Echocardiography Laboratory are accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission.
