The Pinehurst Medical Clinic was granted accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL).

With this accreditation, the Pinehurst Medical Clinic's echocardiography laboratory becomes one of the first 1,000 echocardiography laboratories in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to be so recognized for its commitment to high-quality patient care and its provision of quality diagnostic testing.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. On average, one American dies every 32 seconds from heart-related disease and disorders.

Echocardiographic testing is an important tool in the detection and management of many types of heart disease, the clinic said in a news release. This noninvasive test has become one of the standard diagnostic tools in cardiology with an estimated 10 million echocardiograms performed annually in the United States.

Echocardiography is a complex imaging technique that relies on the experience and training of both the physician and sonographer. Their interpretive and technical abilities determine the diagnostic accuracy of an echocardiographic examination, the clinic said.

The ICAEL has developed an accreditation program which evaluates the quality of these and other critical elements of an echocardiography laboratory.

The ICAEL was established with the support of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography (SOPE) to provide a peer review mechanism to encourage and recognize the provision of quality echocardiographic diagnostic evaluations by a process of voluntary accreditation.