Cardiology

In addition to traditional imaging services, such as X-rays and ultrasounds, our hospital uses specialized heart imaging technologies to analyze and diagnose heart conditions. Imaging exams may include:

• Coronary computerized tomography (CT) angiogram
• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Heart CT for calcium scoring
• Lung nodule screenings
• Nuclear imaging technology
• Stress testing

Our CVICU staff and specialized cardiac care nurses work exclusively with you and your family to ensure you receive the attentive postoperative care you need. One way we do this is by offering an ICU intensivist in-house 24/7.

We are committed to helping you through recovery quickly and return home as soon as possible — typically within five to seven days.

Our hospital has two EP laboratories where we diagnose and treat the following types of irregular heart rhythms:

• Atrial fibrillation (AFib)
• Atrial flutter
• Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)
• Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)

Inside our expanded EP laboratories, we have dedicated spaces for presurgical preparation and postoperative recovery. There is also a procedure room dedicated to EP services. Our cardiologists and electrophysiologists can insert the following devices to manage cardiac rhythm disorders:

• Biventricular pacemakers
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)
• Loop implant recorders
• Pacemakers
• Watchman devices

If you come to our emergency room (ER) with chest pain or other heart attack symptoms, you will be evaluated and diagnosed upon arrival.

We are proud to be recognized for our low door-to-balloon times — the length of time between when your arrival and treatment. The national guideline for door-to-balloon time is 90 minutes. Our times are well below this, meaning you may receive expert emergency care even faster when every second counts.

Heart and vascular surgery is the cornerstone of our cardiac care program. In fact, we are the only facility in Clay County with a traditional open-heart surgery program. Plus, our cardiovascular surgery team members are part of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons' national registry.

Our program was designed to provide a continuum of care for those undergoing surgeries, such as:

• Carotid stenting
• Coronary artery angioplasty and stenting
• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
• Electrophysiology procedures (device implants to regulate arrhythmias)
• Endarterectomy
• Femoral artery bypass graft
• General thoracic surgery
• Heart valve repair
• Heart valve replacement
• Minimally invasive direct CABG (MIDCABG)
• Peripheral atherectomy
• Robot-assisted mitral valve repair

Cardiac catheterizations are minimally invasive procedures used in the diagnosis and treatment of many heart conditions. We perform emergency and elective cardiac procedures in our three cardiac catheterization laboratories (cath labs), including:

• Angioplasty
• Cardiac catheterization
• Cardiac stenting
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR)

Your procedure may be completed by using a blood vessel in your leg or arm. Your cardiologist will determine which approach will be best for you and will make sure you know what to expect.

Should a blood transfusion be needed, we will be there to provide support and specific information regarding the procedure.

Our interventional cardiology team includes board-certified cardiologists, interventional cardiologists and a highly trained support staff. We also have a cardiothoracic surgeon and interventional cardiologist on-call 24/7.

We are proud to offer members of our community access to lifesaving heart education classes, including:

• Advanced cardiac life support recertification
• HeartSaver CPR with AED initial certification
• HeartSaver first aid

Our cardiac care team includes:

• Cardiothoracic surgeons
• Cardiologists
• Interventional cardiologists
• Specialty trained nurses
• Electrophysiologists