angiocardiography

X-ray imaging of the heart and great vessels made visible by injection of a radiopaque solution. See coronary angiography. SYN: cardioangiography. [angio- + G. kardia, heart, + grapho, to write]

- exercise radionuclide a. radionuclide a. while patient is performing exercise, such as on a treadmill or bicycle.

- gated radionuclide a. radionuclide a. using cardiac gating to combine images from several cardiac cycles to improve the quality of the images of separate phases ( e.g., systole and diastole).

- radionuclide a. the display, by means of a stationary scintillation camera device, of the passage of a bolus of a rapidly injected radiopharmaceutical through the heart. SYN: radionuclide ventriculography.

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an·gio·car·di·og·ra·phy -.kärd-ē-'äg-rə-fē n, pl -phies the radiographic visualization of the heart and its blood vessels after injection of a radiopaque substance

an·gio·car·dio·graph·ic -ē-ə-'graf-ik adj

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n.

X-ray examination of the chambers of the heart after introducing a radiographic contrast medium. A slim sterile flexible tube (cardiac catheter) is placed into the atria, ventricles, or great vessels (see catheterization). It is inserted into an accessible vein or artery, most commonly in the groin, following puncture of the vessel with a needle, and manipulated through the vessels to the heart under X-ray control. Video images are recorded during contrast medium injection, either on film or electronic media, often using digital subtraction techniques. This procedure is now usually performed in conjunction with coronary angiography. Similar information can be gained noninvasively by echocardiography.

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an·gio·car·di·og·ra·phy (an″je-o-kahr″de-ogґrə-fe) [angio- + cardiography] angiography of the heart and great vessels; contrast material may be injected into a blood vessel or one of the cardiac chambers. Images obtained can be analyzed to determine parameters of ventricular function, including ventricular ejection fractions, cardiac output, ejection rates, stroke volume, end-diastolic volume, and end-systolic volume, as well as to test the effects of exercise. Called also cardioangiography.