Cardiology

Depending on your diagnosis, you may require surgery to effectively treat your heart disease. When this happens, our hospital's experienced cardiovascular surgeons are here to help.

Some of the cardiovascular surgeries and procedures we offer include:

• Atherectomy: This procedure, used to treat peripheral vascular disease (PVD), uses a catheter to remove plaque from the arteries and blood vessels.
• Balloon angioplasty: This procedure is performed to widen an artery (typically a coronary artery) by inserting a catheter fitted with a balloon. Once in the narrowed artery, the balloon is inflated, which pushes away plaque and restores blood flow.
• Coronary stenting: Often performed in combination with balloon angioplasty, coronary stenting involves the placement of a stent in the coronary artery to keep the artery open and to prevent it from narrowing again.
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation: This procedure places a small, battery-powered device in the chest that monitors the heart rate. If an abnormal heart rhythm is detected, the ICD will administer a small electric shock to restore a normal rhythm.
• Interventional cardiac catheterization: If a health condition is identified in a diagnostic cardiac catheterization, an interventional catheterization may be performed to treat it.
• Open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair: This surgery repairs an AAA by replacing the weakened, bulging area of the aorta with a graft.
• Pacemaker implantation: This procedure places a pacemaker device in the chest to help regulate slow heart rhythms and make sure the heart does not slow to a dangerous rate.

Our hospital's cardiac cath lab is where we perform diagnostic and complex interventional procedures. This is particularly useful for critically ill patients with heart disease.

Here, our heart specialists perform many of our advanced imaging studies, diagnostic heart tests and minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures.

The cardiovascular system of the body delivers oxygen and blood to your muscles and organs. That's why treatments for vascular conditions often mirror those for heart conditions.

Our vascular specialists offer vascular treatments that include:

• Carotid endarterectomy to prevent cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
• Endovascular stenting of abdominal and peripheral aneurysms
• Stenting of the peripheral arteries

Because the heart, lungs and airways work together to ensure the body has oxygen-rich blood, pulmonary (lung) care and cardiac care often go hand-in-hand. Our heart and lung doctors offer specialized care for pulmonary disorders, including:

• Bronchoscopy
• Chest tumor removal
• Lung biopsy
• Lung tumor removal

A heart attack — also called an acute myocardial infarction — occurs when blood is prevented from reaching the heart. Usually, this is caused by a blood clot that blocks an artery that supplies oxygen and blood to the heart. As the heart muscle goes without proper oxygen and blood supply, tissue begins to die.

For this reason, a heart attack is considered a serious cardiac event that requires emergency medical care to remove the blockage and restore normal blood flow.

There are several signs that may indicate a heart attack is happening, but not every person will experience all symptoms. In fact, men and women tend to display different symptoms.

Some symptoms commonly experienced during a heart attack include:

• Indigestion or feelings of fullness that are not relieved with antacids
• Pain or tightness in the chest, arms, jaw, shoulders or upper back
• Shortness of breath
• Unusual onset of fatigue or discomfort in the arms, back, neck or stomach
• Weakness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting

If you have any symptoms of a heart attack, immediately call 911.

The more risk factors you identify with, the more likely you are to experience a heart attack. Risk factors include:

• Being a female and 55 years old or older (or postmenopausal)
• Being a male and 45 years old or older
• Being obese
• Being physically inactive, or sedentary
• Having a family history of heart disease
• Having chronic stress in your life
• Having diabetes
• Having high blood pressure (hypertension)
• Having high LDL ("bad") cholesterol
• Having low HDL ("good") cholesterol
• Having peripheral artery disease
• Having symptomatic carotid artery disease
• Smoking and/or using other tobacco products

Some of the risk factors above are controllable, which means proactive steps can be taken to reduce your risk of future heart attacks as well as heart disease and related conditions. Lifestyle changes you can make to help reduce your risk factors include:

• Eating a diet low in saturated fat and high in fiber
• Exercising regularly
• Losing weight (if you are overweight or obese)
• Quitting smoking

We encourage you to talk to your doctor about how to manage these and other risk factors for experiencing a heart attack.

Our emergency physicians and cardiologists work together to quickly evaluate patients with chest pain and form a comprehensive treatment plan. This may include coronary stenting/balloon angioplasty (a surgical procedure to open arteries and restore blood flow).

Our hospital is also recognized as a receiving facility for patients with the most serious type of heart attack: an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A STEMI occurs when an artery becomes completely blocked. When a STEMI happens, our team can promptly diagnose them and administer lifesaving treatment.

We offer dedicated rehabilitative care for adults with heart and lung diseases. This cardiopulmonary program offers personalized exercise therapies as well as health education to help you optimize your heart and lung health.

Outpatient cardiopulmonary rehabilitation is offered in the Medical Office Building on our hospital campus.

Our offices are on the first floor and are open Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 4:00pm.

If you have any questions about our heart and lung program, please call our Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Department at (727) 341-7741.