Sinai Hospital earns 3 year echocardiography accreditation in the area of adult transthoracic

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore has earned a three year echocardiography accreditation in the area of adult transthoracic, also known as cardiac ultrasound, from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC). This vital test is part of the comprehensive care provided to patients receiving treatment at the Heart Center at Sinai.

A transthoracic echocardiogram is a non-invasive test used to look at different views of the heart to access how healthy it is. This type of early detection is crucial to identify heart disorders and other diseases before they become life threatening.

Only facilities, like Sinai, that meet strict national standards and provide high quality treatment receive recognition from the IAC. The organization makes its decision after a thorough evaluation of each hospital's operational and technical components. Among the criteria considered are the skills of the sonographers performing the examinations, the type of equipment used, the doctors' knowledge when interpreting the test results and the quality assurance measures that the hospital has in place.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. On average, one American dies every 39 seconds of cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association estimates that the direct and indirect costs related to heart disease in the U.S. in 2010 were more than 500-billion dollars.