Electrocardiograms (ECG) Heart Monitoring | Lifelabs

An electrocardiogram, commonly known as an ECG, records how your heart is functioning by measuring its electrical activity through the placement of small sensors on the chest, arms, and lower legs. By measuring the rate and regularity of heartbeats, it can show an abnormal heartbeat, the presence of any damage, or enlargement of the heart muscle. An ECG can also show if your heart isn’t getting enough oxygen and the effects of drugs or regulating devices. The test is quick, safe, and painless.

When Test is Ordered?

Your doctor may suggest you have an ECG for a variety of reasons including to:         

• do a routine annual check of your heart
• monitor your heart rhythm
• show electrical changes in your heart and if oxygen has been reduced
• diagnose a heart attack or other conditions
• monitor abnormal heart structure such as a thickened heart muscle

How is the Test Done?

An ECG is completed in one of Lifelabs Patient Service Centres and involves placing sensors to your chest arms and lower legs to monitor your heart for a brief period. When you arrive, the lab assistant will ask you a few health-related questions (height, weight, medications, symptoms, reason for the testing, if you have had this test performed before and whether you have a pacemaker) and ask you to:

• Remove all your clothing from the waist up as we require a bare chest to position the chest sensors. A sheet will be provided so you can cover yourself.
• Expose your lower legs below the knees. You will be asked to remove pantyhose or tights; however, you may keep your shoes and socks on.
• Lay flat on your back on the ECG bed.

Once you are laying on the bed and relaxed, the lab assistant will:

• Rub alcohol on a small area of your upper arms and lower legs and chest (around the heart area).
• Place six skin sensors on your chest and one on each arm and leg.
• Feel for rib spaces to ensure accurate chest sensor placement. Some placements may require lifting of the breast; this is done by using the back of the hand.
• Ensure you are covered once the sensors are placed and cables attached to preserve your modesty.
• Potentially place pillows under your legs or reapply one or more sensors to ensure an accurate reading.

How to Prepare for Test?

Very little preparation is needed to prepare for an ECG. On the day of the test, we ask that you:

• Wear loose-fitting clothing so pant legs can be easily moved up
• Avoid wearing pantyhose, tights or leggings
• Do not use talcums, lotions, moisturizers or perfumes

Results - Interpretation of ECG readings is done by a physician and the report will be forwarded to your healthcare provider within 3-5 working days. It’s important for you to discuss your ECG results directly with your healthcare provider as they will recommend whether additional testing or care is required.

What is Holter Monitoring? | How is Testing Done? | Lifelabs

A Holter monitor is a small, wearable device that records your heart activity for typically 24 to 72 hours and up to seven to 14 days. The device is small and light-weight and hangs around your neck connecting cable to sensors attached to your chest. A Holter monitor captures all your heart activity throughout the day and while your sleep. This allows a physician to determine if there are intermittent abnormalities to your heart rhythm over an extended period of time. The test is safe and painless.

When it Test Ordered?

Your healthcare provider may recommend a Holter monitor test to detect possible heart-related problems if you are experiencing symptoms such as:

• Irregular heartbeats
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Shortness of breath

How is Test Done?

A Holter monitor is set up at a LifeLabs Patient Service Centre. When you arrive for your appointment, the lab assistant will ask you a few health-related questions (height, weight, medications, symptoms, reason for the testing, if you have had this test performed before and whether you have a pacemaker) and ask you to remove your shirt so disposable sensors can be attached to your chest. A lab assistant will then:

• Rub alcohol in the area of your chest where the sensors are to be attached.
• If necessary, shave any chest hair in the area a sensor will need to be attached
• Attach the sensors and then hook cables to the monitor and the sensors. Some patients may experience slight irritation or marking where the sensors are attached.
• Provide you with any specific instructions to ensure accurate testing.

The monitor is a little larger than a cell phone and will allow you to continue with your normal daily activity. Unless instructed otherwise, you must wear the monitor from the time it is connected until it is removed by LifeLabs. While you are wearing the monitor, it cannot get wet.

After the testing period, you will return to LifeLabs and have the monitor removed. The recordings will then be transmitted to a physician for reading with the findings forwarded to your healthcare provider.

How Long Does it Take?

There are three main components of Holter monitor testing:

• Placement of sensors: 30 minutes
• Wearing of the monitor: minimum 24-hours or as directed by your physician
• Removal of sensors: 15 minutes

You must wear the monitor from the time it is connected until it is removed by LifeLabs.

How to Prepare for Test?

Very little preparation is needed to prepare for a Holter monitor. On the day of the test, we ask that you:

• Shower or bathe just before your appointment. Unless directed otherwise, you will not be permitted to bathe while wearing the monitor.
• Do not use talcums, lotions, moisturizers, or perfumes prior to the appointment or while wearing the monitor.
• Wear a comfortable outfit that opens in the front, such as a loose, buttoned shirt. You cannot wear a full slip to the appointment or while wearing the monitor. You may wear a bra, but you will be required to leave it on throughout the duration of the test so as not to disturb the sensors.
• Bring a list of all currently prescribed medication and herbal remedies.
• If you have a pacemaker, bring your Pacemaker Card with the latest setting.

Understanding Your Results

Interpretation of Holter monitor readings is done by a physician and the report will be forwarded to your healthcare provider within 3-5 working days. It’s important for you to discuss your results directly with your healthcare provider as they will recommend whether additional testing or care is required.

Genetic Tests | Lifelabs

LifeLabs Genetics offers clinical, genetic testing, sample collection, and genetic counseling. The LifeLabs Genetics team provides a full suite of tests useful for planning your family, determining susceptibility to inherited disorders, tackling diagnostic challenges, getting the right medication, or predicting outcomes or recurrence.

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing - Panorama is a Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) that screens for common genetic conditions caused by extra or missing chromosomes in the baby’s DNA as early as 9 weeks.

Expanded Carrier Screening - Expanded Carrier Screening identifies parents-to-be that are likely to pass on genetic conditions to their children.

TreatGx Plus - Predicts an individual’s response to prescription medications by analyzing medication-to-medication, medication-to-disease, and medication-to-genetic interactions.

Hereditary Cancer - More and more Canadians with early cancer diagnoses or pronounced family histories of breast or ovarian cancers are considering BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) genetic testing.

Known Mutations and Single Genes - These 3500+ diagnostic and predictive single gene and genetic panel tests provide concrete, actionable insights that lead to informed decision making and personalized treatment.

Multi-Gene Panel Testing - “> 200-panel options, spanning more than 15 medical specialties, to provide actionable insight and informed decision making

Whole Exome Sequencing - To determine a cause for a complex genetic disorder, Whole Exome Sequencing analyzes thousands of genes simultaneously, providing an alternative to single-gene tests or multigene panels, to investigate the molecular basis of genetic disorders.

Whole Genome Sequencing - WGS is one of the latest genetic technologies that sequences the entire coding and non-coding regions of the genome to help provide answers for individuals with complex diseases where other tests have not.

Lifelabs Genetics, Canada's largest private clinical laboratory conducts life-saving and life-changing genetic tests from its lab in Toronto. Life labs maintain the College of American Pathologists and the institute of quality management in healthcare certification. Lifelabs make continued investment in new diagnostic technologies. Visit the official website https://www.lifelabs.com/ to learn more.

General Lab Test | Lifelabs

As Canada’s largest community lab, Lifelabs is an industry leader in ensuring exceptional quality testing in our state-of-the-art facilities. Driven by a passion to ensure you have critical information about your health, we give you access to the latest diagnostic tests available.

What are the general lab tests?

Lab tests are critical tools in helping healthcare providers understand what is happening in your body. The information gathered can help confirm the cause of health concerns or rule out any potential concerns.

When are general lab tests ordered?

Lab tests may be ordered in response to your sharing concerns or symptoms with your healthcare provider. They may also be ordered to establish a baseline for your health, monitor your health, or as part of an overall wellness program.

What tests are available?

We have literally 1,000’s of lab tests available to meet the diverse needs of the millions of patients who come to us each year for testing. And, we are regularly introducing new ones to ensure that you access the best and most comprehensive information available. Visit https://www.lifelabs.com/tests-services/featured-tests/ to find out in detail the tests being offered at Life Labs.

With over 70% of health care decisions based on diagnostic results, we know the importance of high-quality tests. LifeLabs is committed to being a trusted healthcare partner and providing you with the information you need to make decisions. Lifelabs offer services in most provinces of Canada, individuals can find a location near them: https://locations.lifelabs.com/locationfinder

Non-Invasive Prenatal Test | Lifelabs

Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (also called cell-free fetal DNA testing) uses a blood sample from the mother to analyze DNA from the placenta for certain chromosome conditions, like Down syndrome, that could affect the baby’s health. The results of a NIPT screening can help you and your doctor decides the next steps, including whether to have a diagnostic test like chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis (“amnio”). These genetic tests analyze a baby's own genetic material, collected from the amniotic fluid or placenta, to tell with 100 percent certainty whether a baby has a chromosome abnormality. 

How Non-Invasive Prenatal Test is done

• There are always pieces of genetic information (cell-free DNA) floating in our bloodstreams.
• When a woman is pregnant, pieces of genetic information from the placenta (cell-free fetal DNA) are released into her bloodstream and mix with her own genetic information.
• NIPT tests the mixture of DNA to determine if there is a high or low risk that the baby has certain chromosome anomalies.
• Fetal fraction, or the proportion of DNA in the blood sample that comes from the placenta, can affect the accuracy of an NIPT test.

Why Choose Panorama?

• Panorama™ Non-Invasive Prenatal Test can be ordered as early as 9 weeks, giving you time to plan and prepare for your baby
• Panorama™ carries no risk of miscarriage and reduces unnecessary invasive procedures like CVS and amniocentesis
• Panorama™ can tell you the sex of your baby (optional) and has zero sex determination errors in validation studies
• Panorama™ screens for Down syndrome with an accuracy of greater than 99%D
• Panorama™ can screen for common microdeletions that impact all pregnancies equally regardless of maternal age
• Panorama™ is the only prenatal screen that detects and differentiates between DNA from mother and baby, resulting in greater accuracy
• Panorama™ can tell you if your twins are identical or fraternal, and report the sex of each fetus
• Panorama™ results are available within 7 – 10 days of being received in the laboratory

LifeLabs Genetics offers clinical, genetic testing, sample collection, and genetic counseling. The Life Labs Genetics team provides a full suite of tests useful for planning your family, determining susceptibility to inherited disorders, tackling diagnostic challenges, getting the right medication, or predicting outcomes or recurrence.