Cardiac Imaging Unit

The Echocardiography-Doppler laboratory is part of the Heart Centre Cardiac Imaging Unit, located on the first floor of the Hospital Clinico’s blue courtyard in Tower A, opposite the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit.

The recently restructured Cardiac Imaging Unit has a suite of three examination rooms equipped with high-precision 3D technology and other advanced applications that attends 14,000 patients a year. One of the rooms is reserved for patient and family information after complex procedures, and another is equipped with a cycle-ergo-spirometer. There is also a workroom with computer terminals, currently connected to the hospital’s imaging network and the SSPA server, facilitating the analysis of digitalized images. The suite also has a waiting area for outpatients.

Portfolio of services Our portfolio covers ultrasound examinations using various echocardiography and Doppler techniques. The basic modalities of M-mode, two-dimensional, spectral Doppler, color-coded Doppler, and tissue Doppler echocardiography are performed, but we also perform more advanced modalities, such as 3D imaging, myocardial strain studies, or the use of echo-contrasts or echo-enhancers, among others, which allow for non-invasive but highly advanced assessment of most heart diseases.

The service portfolio now also includes transesophageal echocardiography with 3D probes, and stress echocardiography with oxygen consumption and pharmacological stress tests.

These ultrasound applications enable our teams to attend cases of diverse complexity, from outpatients to patients admitted to the cardiology ward or other units. Collaboration between the Anesthesia and Heart Surgery services is now a consolidated reality, and our heart surgery patients receive systematic intraoperative echocardiography. This gives greater safety and certainty of results, enabling the application of new surgical techniques in the repair of valves, the aorta, and ventricular reconstruction.

Healthcare Activities

Healthcare activites are mainly carried out during the morning, but also in the afternoon, in collaboration with other cardiologists from the cardiology service. The unit is staffed by cardiologists specifically trained in advanced echocardiography, who ensure the continuity of care in complex procedures. These healthcare professionals are supported by other cardiologists with specialized training in congenital heart disease, oxygen consumption stress tests, and cardiac rehabilitation, alongside cardiology residents, nursing staff, and orderlies. The recent reorganization and expansion of the service portfolio has enabled us to perform over 800 examinations monthly.

The most frequent classic indications are the diagnosis and monitoring of heart diseases such as valvular or ischemic ones, cardiomyopathy, embolic sources, or congenital heart diseases. Additional indications include the pre- and post-implantation assessment of percutaneous intracardiac devices for the closure of intracardiac communications, closure of prosthetic valve dehiscence, percutaneous aortic prosthesis implantation, mitral valve repair using mitral clips (with others now being incorporated for the tricuspid valve), and appendage closure with intracavitary devices, as well as valvular assessment for heart valve repair surgery.

The Cardiac Imaging Unit also provides indispensable support in direct monitoring via 3D transesophageal echocardiography for especially complex procedures in the Cardiac Catheterization laboratory, such as the correction of mitral regurgitation using mitral clips, appendage occlusion, or the closure of prosthetic dehiscence using intracardiac devices.

In addition to healthcare activity aimed at patients with the heart diseases and conditions already mentioned, this unit provides support for other services, both for admitted patients and outpatient. The unit’s collaboration with Oncology and Infectious Diseases is of particular importance and they have their own schedule for better patient organization, as does Neurology, with a novel screening program for abnormalities that predispose patients to strokes without a detected cause.

The Echocardiography laboratory is integrated into the Cardiac Imaging Unit, which includes other diagnostic imaging techniques, such as coronary CT angiography and aortic CT angiography, or cardiac magnetic resonance, thanks to coordination with the Radiology Service, whose analysis using specific software enables more complete patient assessment.

Teaching Activities

The main focus of this unit’s teaching activity is cardiology residents. Over 20 cardiology resident classes have trained with us, but the unit has also taught intensive care and cardiovascular surgery residents, family and community medicine residents in addition to other specialties, since 2020.

In addition, our unit offers internships and proides echocardiography seminars for students of the Faculty of Medicine, along with clinical review and/or update sessions for the rest of the Cardiology Service.

Research Activities

The Imaging Unit has several lines of research activity, some of which are specific to the unit within the Heart Centre, and have a primary focus on interventionism in structural heart disease, heart failure with advanced therapies such as cardiac resynchronization, or ventricular assists, which have generated publications in high impact factor journals.

The Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria’s Cardiac Imaging Unit also collaborates in lines of research with other services, such as Oncology and Neurology, through both collaborative projects and clinical trials.

One of our latest developments has been the opening of advanced echocardiography training for cardiologists through research grants.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, research on cardiovascular involvement in patients infected by the virus has become one of the Unit’s priorities.

Mission of the Heart Centre

The mission of the Heart Centre at Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria is to improve people’s quality of life, addressing our patients’ vascular health challenges in innovative, sustainable ways, within a personalized environment that is welcoming, high-quality and safe.