Central Florida Pulmonary Group Offers Shape-HF
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
New, “no-stress” medical test is simple to take for even high-risk patients.
Orlando, FL — Shortness of breath is the primary reason patients visit the Central Florida Pulmonary Group (CFPG).
“Shortness of breath could be a symptom of any number of different problems including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, heart disease, and others,” says Syed Mobin M.D. FCCP, FAASM, pulmonary disease specialist, critical care physician and sleep disorders practitioner at CFPG. “Evaluating shortness of breath can be difficult and complicated.”
Now diagnosing the cause of a patient’s shortness of breath is easier thanks to a new test being used at CFPG.
“A patient with shortness of breath — especially when doing normal daily activities — could have a serious underlying condition. We can now identify the cause with accuracy and get patients feeling better faster.” — Dr. Syed I. Mobin M.D. FCCP, FAASM, Central Florida Pulmonary Group
The test, called Shape-HF, involves having the patient step up and down on a stable exercise platform for three minutes at a comfortable pace while breathing into a tube and wearing a finger pulse oximeter. As the patient breathes, air flow as well as oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations of both inhaled and exhaled air are measured. Because this device quantifies the severity of dyspnea on exertion and evaluates the interaction between the heart, lungs, and other organ systems involved in oxygen uptake and transport, physicians like Dr. Mobin have an objective view into a patient’s physiology. Until now, obtaining this relevant clinical information has been out of reach for most clinics.
“This test allows us to easily evaluate the patient, diagnose the problem and its severity, and conduct follow up tests to measure the response to treatment,” says Dr. Mobin. “No other test is equivalent. We use the echocardiogram, chest X-ray, pulmonary function test, chest CT scan, as well as other procedures. However these are done while the patient is at rest which doesn’t show us the patient’s physiology while exercising. And, because the traditional cardiopulmonary exercise stress test is cumbersome, we rarely use it in our practice because it is hard for the patient to perform. The Shape-HF test is easy for most patients to take and it really helps us pinpoint the problem before the patient’s symptoms become worse.”
About Dr. Mobin and CFPG
Shape-HF testing has been validated at the Mayo Clinic, where Dr. Mobin completed his pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship. Dr. Mobin is a pulmonologist with Central Florida Pulmonary Group as well as Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida School of Medicine, Medical Director of CFPG Institute of Sleep Medicine, and Director of the Florida Sleep School. Dr. Mobin is board certified in pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine and specializes in pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, asthma, sarcoidosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, and sleep disorders. Central Florida Pulmonary Group is located in Orlando, Florida, and prides itself on using the newest, most advanced techniques in the fields of pulmonary disease, critical care medicine and sleep medicine. It is affiliated with five major Central Florida hospitals and is the largest clinic of its kind in the area.
About Shape-HF
Shape-HF is FDA-approved and has been clinically validated against the most sophisticated research grade cardiopulmonary exercise testing systems. Shape Medical Systems Inc. is a privately held, St. Paul, Minnesota-based medical device company whose core technology lies in the development and commercialization of products for assessing heart/lung interaction and ventilation in chronic heart failure and other cardiopulmonary disease. Shape's clear mission is to develop products that increase the quality of patients' lives by helping doctors quantify shortness of breath, assess patient functional capacity, optimize drug, device and rehabilitation therapy, and monitor patient progress. Shape testing provides evidence based outcomes. Shape Medical Systems was founded in 2004. The Shape-HF System, testing protocols and applications are protected by patent 7,225,022 and other U.S. and foreign patents issued and pending.
Source: Central Florida Pulmonary Group