Cardiology

To assess your heart health, we provide advanced diagnostic imaging services. Our cardiac team uses the results of these tests to diagnose heart conditions, such as heart disease, as early as possible. Early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease is critical to preventing permanent damage to your heart and preventing other heart events, such as a heart attack.

Some of our heart screening tests and procedures include:

• Angiography
• Aortogram
• Bypass graft visualization
• Cardiac catheterization
• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
• Electrophysiology (EP) study
• Holter monitoring
• Intravascular ultrasound
• Stress testing

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure that helps with the early diagnosis of heart disease. During a heart catheterization, or "heart cath," a thin, flexible tube (a catheter) is guided through your blood vessels up to the heart.

Then, a special contrast dye is injected through the catheter. This dye shows up clearly on X-ray imaging, allowing our doctors and cardiologists to:

• Check for heart defects
• Evaluate an enlarged heart
• Locate any narrowed or clogged arteries of the heart
• Measure pressures within the heart
• See how well the heart valves and heart chambers are working
• Develop your personalized treatment plan

We have a highly trained staff of board-certified cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons who perform a variety of procedures, including:

• Angioplasty
• Catheter-based procedures that use a rotating tool to open blocked arteries
• Coronary artery bypass
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) insertion
• Intra-aortic balloon pump insertion
• Intracoronary thrombolytic therapy
• Pacemaker implantation
• Peripheral vascular intervention
• Stenting
• Thrombectomy (clot removal)
• Valve repair

Our heart specialists are trained in interventional cardiology, which focuses on blood flow through arteries in the heart and throughout the body. We use minimally invasive measures of interventional cardiology because of its many benefits to patients, including less postoperative pain and faster healing.

In other cases, we may use traditional surgical procedures to treat heart conditions.

A heart arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm and can lead to stroke or even heart failure.

Our specially trained cardiac team uses EP studies and other methods to diagnose various arrhythmias. Once the type and source of the arrhythmia has been identified, our cardiologists and electrophysiologists perform the procedure needed to correct the heartbeat abnormality.

Some of the methods we use to treat arrhythmias include the implantation of pacemakers and automatic cardiac defibrillators.

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. This may happen when:

• A blood clot occurs in the coronary arteries
• Coronary arteries become too thin
• Fatty plaque builds up in the coronary arteries
• The walls of the arteries thicken

Our emergency department has doctors and support staff trained and prepared to treat heart attacks 24/7. We use proven guidelines and protocols for heart attack treatment, which result in less permanent damage to the heart.

Heart attack symptoms

The symptoms of a heart attack can vary. Recognizing the symptoms could save a life. If you or someone you know experiences any of the following symptoms, call 911:

• Cold sweats
• Dizziness, fainting or sudden lightheadedness
• Fatigue
• Heartburn, indigestion, nausea or abdominal pain
• Irregular or racing heartbeat
• Pain, pressure, tightness or an aching discomfort in your chest, back, arms, jaw or neck that lasts for more than a few minutes
• Shortness of breath

We offer heart valve repair and replacement procedures to treat heart valve defects, disease or failure. When possible, we use a catheter-based approach for repairing for defective valves. If needed, we also offer a heart valve replacement as an open-heart surgery in which we replace your defective valve with a biological or mechanical valve.

We are committed to helping you heal and fully recover following a cardiac procedure, disease or condition. If you have had open-heart surgery, you will be cared for in our intensive care unit (ICU).

As part of your postoperative care, we provide continuous bedside cardiac monitoring, portable telemetry monitoring and noninvasive blood pressure monitoring.

Our licensed and highly trained therapists also personalize physical therapy and rehabilitation programs to meet your unique needs. They will use rehabilitative therapies and techniques to restore your heart health and get you on track to leading a healthy lifestyle.