Dyspnea Center Offers Advanced Diagnostic Testing for Patients with Unexplained Shortness of Breath
For patients experiencing unexplained shortness of breath, or dyspnea, the specialists at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute offer advanced testing capabilities to help diagnose the underlying condition or cause of the breathlessness.
The Dyspnea Center is a collaboration between UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute’s Evaluation & Prevention Center and the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Many patients with breathlessness have both cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases that require treatment, so the Dyspnea Center provides expanded diagnostic testing to measure both heart and lung function in patients.
Designed as a regional resource for evaluation and management of breathlessness, the Dyspnea Center offers expertise in the latest noninvasive and invasive cardiopulmonary exercise techniques to help determine the cause of symptoms and enhance patient care.
The Dyspnea Center offers expanded testing services for patients who experience any of the following:
- Unexplained dyspnea/shortness of breath
- Diastolic dysfunction or diastolic heart failure
- Exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension
- Exercise intolerance
Cardiopulmonary Testing
Traditional noninvasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing techniques offered through the Dyspnea Center include:
- Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE)
- Stress echocardiogram (SE)
- Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET)
In addition, our multidisciplinary team is one of only a select few academic medical centers in the U.S. with the capabilities to perform invasive cardiopulmonary exercise tests (I-CPET). This innovative procedure simultaneously records intracardiac pressures, intra-arterial blood pressure and metabolic gas exchange using the CPET breathing mask in order to measure heart and lung function during exercise.
Location and Contact Information
The Dyspnea Center is located on the main campus of University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio:
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Mather Pavilion 1800
11100 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44106
To learn more, please call 216-844-3800.