Cardiology

Heart screening and imaging is diagnostic testing that works to both identify future risks and detect problems in their earliest stages. This provides your doctor with critical information that helps to form your personalized treatment plan.

Our diagnostics include everything from echocardiography to stress testing and cardiac catherization.

Coronary calcium scans

As plaque builds up in your arteries, they can become narrowed, causing less blood to flow through the body. This can, in turn, lead to heart failure or a heart attack. Coronary calcium scans are low-cost, 15-minute scans that provide quick, easy-to-understand assessments of the amount of calcification in your arteries. This helps us visualize exactly how blocked your arteries are so we can assess your risk of a heart attack.

When treating heart and vascular issues, we strive to use minimally invasive procedures whenever possible. Minimally invasive interventions bring about less pain, less scarring, faster recovery and shorter hospital stays, so you reap all the benefits. However, we are also fully equipped to perform traditional, open surgery when necessary.

Some procedures and treatments we offer include:

• Cardiothoracic surgery
• Electrophysiology
• Interventional cardiology
• Pediatric cardiology and surgery
• Robot-assisted surgery
• Thoracic surgery
• Vascular surgery

Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, is a broad term that refers to diseases of narrowed blood vessels. Although some types of heart disease develop over time and some are congenital, heart disease accounts for one in every five American deaths. This makes it the leading cause of death in both men and women.

Detecting and reversing heart disease

Early detection is the best defense in treating — and possibly reversing — the disease, and we are dedicated to making this possible by providing leading-edge diagnostics and treatments. We also aim to raise community awareness around significant facts to know about heart disease, such as the differences between heart disease in women versus men.

Heart disease treatments

If your arteries have become blocked as a result of heart disease, interventional cardiology (catheter-based procedures) may be necessary to clear the blockage. Your doctor may perform these treatments during a heart test if they determine that intervention is necessary to prevent a cardiac event.

Your heart specialist may also prescribe lifestyle changes to reverse or reduce the symptoms of the disease. These lifestyle changes may include:

• Dietary changes
• Exercise
• Losing weight
• Not smoking
• Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation
• Removing stressors

Our specialists employ innovative techniques, such as medication management, implanted devices and faulty heart valve repair or replacement to aid in the treatment of heart failure. In an effort to reduce readmission rates for heart failure, we fully participate in the American College of Cardiology’s Hospital to Home quality initiative.

Our vascular surgeons are fellowship trained and prepared to use leading-edge technology to treat both common and rare disorders of the vascular system. Additionally, many of our surgeries are minimally invasive endovascular procedures, which use catheters to access problems in your veins and arteries. This enables you to heal faster and have a shorter hospital stay.