Cardio-Respiratory and Neurology Services

The highly trained professionals in Cardio-Respiratory Services offer convenient services and caring expertise focused on our community's health and wellness. Services are offered at the General site: 4001 Leslie Street, Toronto, (Sheppard Avenue East and Leslie Street)

A referral from your physician is required for all tests in Cardio-Respiratory.

Cardio-Respiratory and Neurology

Cardio-Respiratory and Neurology Services offer one-stop shopping for diagnostic testing of the heart, lungs and neurological functions. Patients can get their testing done here and benefit from the expertise of our cardiologists, radiologists, respirologists, and our team of neurologists who interpret our EEG and EMG studies.

Nuclear Cardiology

Nuclear cardiology uses small amounts of radioactive material (tracer) to diagnose heart disease. The tracer is injected into your bloodstream. A gamma camera is used to detect the tracer and take pictures of your heart. At North York General Hospital, the nuclear cardiology images may be corrected with computed tomography (CT) leading to more precise information and accurate diagnoses.

Holter Monitoring 

A Holter monitor is a small recorder, about the size of the cell phone. You will wear it for one to two days. It records all your heart beats, and is used to look for abnormalities in your heart rhythm. This test is used for people who have symptoms like palpitations or dizziness that come and go. A regular EKG only lasts a few seconds and can miss these problems.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) 

This test takes regular blood pressure readings, usually over a 24-hour period, as patients conduct their normal activities.

Graded Exercise Stress Test 

This is a special type of electrocardiogram (ECG) that compares the heart's electrical activity at rest and under exertion while walking on a treadmill. This test is used to evaluate the patient's health and the heart's response to exercise.

Echocardiography

In an Echo test, ultrasound waves are used to provide a moving picture of the heart, to show its structure and function. This test is performed to evaluate the valves and chambers of the heart in a noninvasive manner. The echocardiogram allows doctors to evaluate heart murmurs, check the pumping function of the heart, and evaluate patients who have had heart attacks. It is a very good screening test for heart disease in certain groups of patients.

Pulmonary Function Test

A pulmonary function test is a breathing test that shows the presence of lung abnormalities. Pulmonary function tests are usually ordered on patients who have symptoms of asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, shortness of breath, persistent cough or wheezing.