A full array of diagnostic technology is now available to "look" into the heart and surrounding vessels with new capabilities and clarity. OCA physicians draw on imaging devices that can "see" the form and function of the heart giving physicians a comprehensive diagnostic profile of the cardiovascular system to use in determining nature and severity of a patients' heart problems. These non-invasive procedures are the tests that are usually performed first when your doctor wants to document information about your heart. This information may be used later to compare the function of your heart at this time with the results of tests taken in the future.

Non-invasive procedures are also used when a comprehensive diagnostic profile is required to establish the nature and severity of heart problems. Often, a problem can be identified by even the simplest of these, the electrocardiogram, or ECG, which is used to evaluate the origin and transmission of electrical impulses that maintain the normal heartbeat.

Studies of the heart structures -- the muscle tissues and valves -- can be obtained from several types of echocardiography, which uses ultrasound to produce images of the heart in motion. Nuclear imaging is another technique used to visualize heart structure and function.