EH Heart Specialist Private Limited

EH Heart Specialist Private Limited is a comprehensive heart specialist clinic in Singapore which offers a full range of diagnostic services and treatments for all cardiac problems. Our team comprising of cardiologist (heart specialist), nurses, cardiology technician and admin executive, is dedicated to offering the highest quality medical diagnostic care and treatment options for patients with heart diseases. There are several components included in a patient’s visit to our cardiology clinic including risk assessment, comprehensive cardiac diagnostic evaluation, risk management, treatment of heart diseases, education, optimisation and rehabilitation of the heart.

Our heart specialist, Dr Eric HONG Cho Tek, is accreditated to admit and manage patients in various hospitals in Singapore, including Mt Elizabeth Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, Parkway East Hospital, Mt Alvernia Hospital and Raffles Hospital.

1. Specialist consultation: We provide individualised treatment to both the sick and those who are apparently healthy but want to reduce their future risk of cardiovascular disease 12-lead Electrocardiogram (ECG).
2. Treadmill exercise test (TMX): The treadmill exercise test is a test that measures the heart’s tolerance for exercise and helps to detect coronary heart disease. The treadmill stress test involves walking and /or running on a treadmill machine while recording the patient’s ECG and blood pressure throughout the test.
3. Echocardiography: This uses ultrasonic energy that is directed over the chest wall to obtain images of the heart. These images show the heart\’s position, motion of the walls of the heart, the interior chambers, valves of the heart and blood flow within the chambers of the heart.
4. Carotid Ultrasound for evaluation of possible future coronary artery disease Carotid ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to image the interiors of the two large arteries in the neck which supply the brain with oxygen-rich blood. Too much plaque in a carotid artery can cause a stroke.
5. Ambulatory ECG monitoring.
6. 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure monitoring (ABP).
7. Comprehensive range of blood / urine investigations.
8. Cardiac stress testing (echocardiographic and radionuclide): Stress testing is less invasive and less expensive than cardiac catheterization, and it detects abnormalities of blood flow. The cardiac demand can be increased by exercise or drugs. Radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging is more sensitive (85 to 90%) and specific (70 to 80%) than ECG stress testing. It is particularly useful for patients with resting ECG abnormalities that may interfere with interpretation of ECG changes during a stress test. It also helps in patients who have high probability of false-positives on exercise ECG such as premenopausal women. Myocardial perfusion imaging test can help to determine the functional significance of coronary artery stenosis, which is then further identified by coronary angiography.
9. Multi-slice CT coronary angiography and calcium scoring Computed Tomography: Coronary Angiography (CTA) is a non-invasive heart imaging modality that produces high-resolution, 3-dimensional pictures of the heart and great vessels, to determine the presence of fatty or calcium deposits (plaques) in the coronary arteries. Coronary CTA is able to rule out significant narrowing of the major coronary arteries and detect \”soft plaque,\” in the coronary artery walls that may lead to heart problems in the majority of individuals. The calcium-score screening is a test used to detect calcium deposits found in atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries. It is used to evaluate the risk for future coronary artery disease.
10. Invasive coronary angiography, intravascular physiological assessment and angioplasty (stenting): This involves a medical imaging technique that is used to visualize the inside of blood vessels. This is done by injecting a radio-opaque contrast agent into the blood vessel and imaging using X-ray based techniques such as fluoroscopy. Angioplasty (stenting) or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) is widely used for the treatment of the blockages of the coronary arteries. Primary angioplasty is the mechanical reopening of an occluded vessel using a balloon-tipped catheter in patients with heart attack. The earlier primary coronary intervention is provided, the more effective it is.
11. State-of-the-heart Hybrid PET CT: This involves the combination of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) systems. The main advantage of hybrid PET CT is the visualisation of both coronary artery anatomy and understanding physiological significance during the same imaging session. Whereas coronary CT angiography provides information on the presence and extent of the stenosis in the coronary artery that leads to coronary artery disease (CAD), these new PET blood flow tracers provide information on the downstream functional significance of these obstructive lesions. Currently, the clinical applications mainly focus on the identification of coronary artery stenosis, which can be treated by coronary interventions. With advances in technology, CT angiography may allow imaging of the plaque morphology, not only going beyond the assessment of the luminal stenosis but also allowing the new radio-labelled ligands in the application of PET, to assess plaque biology and instability. This is particularly relevant in asymptomatic patients with coronary risk factors.
12. Cardiac PET (positron emission tomography): patients are evaluated using a PET scanner after intravenoulsy injected with a radioisotope. This test is much faster than traditional myocardial stress test and can be completed within 30 minutes. It is also more accurate with the advantage of assessing individual coronary arteries and coronary flow reserve non invasively. All these make cardiac PET ideal for intermediate risk patients requiring risk stratification. This includes diabetics, stroke patients, renal impaired patients, patients with implants and post revascularisation patients (stents, CABG).
13. Athlete screening ahlete screening and exercise prescription: Besides general cardiac screening, we also have screening for athletes needing cardiac clearance and exercise prescription prior to their events. After exercise testing, the clinical information obtained is applied to achieve maximum exercise benefits for each individual patient.