The Orlando
Heart Center strives to ensure prompt management of all
patients and timely responses to our referring physician and
health care professional colleagues.
We provide
several options for physicians and health care professionals
seeking to refer a patient. Please use our
Referral Checklist to ensure
that you have all of the necessary information to easily
refer your patient.
Referrals for Cardiac P.E.T. Stress Testing
Orlando Heart Center is excited to announce that we now
offer Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography Stress Testing
also known as Cardiac P.E.T. in our downtown office. Over
the years, we have been concerned that in certain patients,
traditional nuclear stress tests may not always be the
optimal test to diagnose CAD. That is why, after careful
research and analysis, our physicians made the decision to
offer this new, advanced imaging technology.
We are the first cardiology practice in Central Florida to
offer Cardiac P.E.T. stress testing, and we believe this is
a safer, quicker and more effective diagnostic tool for
certain patients, especially those who are large-chested and
prone to having a lot of artifact show up on a nuclear
study. It is also designed for patients who cannot walk on
a treadmill. We follow the
ACCF/ASNC/ACR/AHA/ASE/SCCT/SCMR/SNM 2009 Appropriate Use
Criteria for Cardiac Radionuclide Imaging recently
published in the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Compared to a nuclear pharmacologic stress test, the Cardiac
P.E.T. stress test:
-
Provides increased sensitivity and specificity
-
Takes less than 1 hour to perform as compared to 4 hours
for a traditional nuclear pharmacologic stress test
-
Exposes the patient to significantly less radiation
-
Reduces the number of equivocal studies that go on to
require a heart catherization
All Cardiac P.E.T. stress tests are read by our nuclear
board-certified cardiologists, and results are immediately
shared with your patient’s individual OHC cardiologist.
Follow-up care is provided in all four of our offices. We
will promptly report test results back to you, the referring
physician, and keep you informed and involved in any
subsequent care plan for your patient.
Cardiac P.E.T. Referrals
Our insurance team is expertly trained at securing the
necessary authorizations for insurance coverage of this
procedure. If you would like us to see your patient in
consultation prior to the test, we will be happy to order
the test and obtain the necessary authorizations for you so
your staff does not have to do it.
If you have a patient you feel is a good candidate for a
Cardiac P.E.T. stress test, please call any of our offices
below, and we will be happy to schedule the patient for you.
Downtown: 407-650-1301
Sand Lake: 407-370-5858
Health Central: 407-290-3050
East Orlando: 407-380-6020
Referring to an Orlando Heart Center Cardiologist
Via phone:
Please call our scheduling office at (407) 650-1302 between
the hours of 8am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday.
New
patients, in most cases, can be seen by a cardiologist
within 72 hours
of calling for an appointment.
