Intravascular Ultrasound

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), or intravascular echocardiography, is a combination of echocardiography (ultrasound) and a procedure called cardiac catheterization. IVUS uses sound waves to produce an image of the coronary arteries and to see their condition. The sound waves travel through a tube called a catheter. The catheter is threaded through an artery and into your heart. This test lets doctors look inside your blood vessels.

Cardiac MRI

Cardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) uses special magnets and a computer to create images of the heart as it is beating, producing both still and moving pictures of the heart and major blood vessels. Doctors use cardiac MRI to get images of the beating heart and to look at the structure and function of the heart. These images can help them decide how best to treat patients with heart problems.

Coronary Artery Screening Exam

Blood pressure measurements determine if you have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a risk factor for coronary artery disease. Blood tests are often done to measure cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is also a risk factor for developing coronary artery disease. If coronary artery disease is suspected, you may have tests to determine the diagnosis. The most common initial tests are electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG), chest X-ray, routine blood tests, and exercise electrocardiogram, also called a "stress test."

Exercise Consult

Individualized consults with a cardiovascular lifestyle specialist. Patients will receive assistance developing a healthy, individualized exercise program.

Endovascular Stenting

Endovascular stenting is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat circulatory system blockage or damage to blood vessels caused by the build-up of plaque (fatty deposits, calcium deposits and scar tissue) in the arteries -- sometimes called atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).  It involves placing a stent, or a small wire-mesh tube, in an affected artery. The procedure may be done along with cleaning or repairing the artery.

Aneurysm Evaluation

Treatment of aneurysm, a balloon-like sac in the wall of an artery, vein, or heart caused by a weakening of the wall by injury, disease, or abnormality present at birth.

Carotid Artery Disease Treatment

Carotid artery disease occurs when the major arteries in your neck become narrowed or blocked.  These arteries supply your brain with blood.  They extend from your aorta, in your chest, to the brain.  Surgery removes plaque and clots from the carotid arteries and may help prevent a stroke from occurring.

Brain Aneurysm Treatment

Treatment of brain (cerebral) aneurysm. Aneurysm occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bulges or balloons.  If an aneurysm bursts, the resulting bleeding into the brain is known as hemorrhagic stroke.  If not treated quickly, aneurysms can cause severe permanent disability or death.

Arteriovenous Malformations Treatment

Treatment of arteriovenous malformation (AVM). An arteriovenous malformation occurs when the blood vessels of the brain become tangled, keeping blood from circulating properly through the brain.  This can lead to serious problems, including seizures, stroke and bleeding in the brain.

Stress Management

A set of techniques used to help an individual cope more effectively with difficult situations in order to feel better emotionally, improve behavioral skills, and often to enhance feelings of control. Stress management may include relaxation exercises, assertiveness training, cognitive restructuring, time management, and social support.

Hypertension Care

The treatment and care of high blood pressure.

Carotid Doppler

The Carotid Doppler exam uses sound frequency in a range that is higher than human beings are able to hear to produce images of the carotid arteries in the neck on a viewing screen. The blood flow through these arteries is evaluated with Doppler.

Rotoblator

A therapeutic procedure in which a long hollow tube (catheter) is inserted into the femoral artery in the patient's groin, and threaded through the blood vessels into the heart. A small diamond-tipped burr is then advanced on the catheter to the site of the blockage in the coronary artery. As the burr spins through the artery, the plaque is pulverized. This procedure is particularly useful for hardened, calcified blockages.

Ankle Brachial Index

This test is done by measuring blood pressure at the ankle and in the arm while a person is at rest. Measurements are usually repeated at both sites after five minutes of walking on a treadmill. The ankle brachial index (ABI) result is used to predict the severity of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Visceral Vascular Studies

Peripheral Artery Disease Treatment

Treatment for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) focuses on reducing symptoms and preventing further progression of the disease. In most cases, lifestyle changes, exercise and claudication medications are enough to slow the progression or even reverse the symptoms of PAD.

Pulse Volume Recording (PVR)

Pulse volume recording (PVR) is part of a simple, painless, noninvasive test that measures blood flow within blood vessels (arteries) in the legs or arms. The measurements obtained from PVRs are used in combination with other tests to help locate blockages in the arteries.

Pulse Oximetry

Electrodes used to monitor your pulse are attached to a part of your body like a finger, earlobe, or skin fold.

Peripheral Studies

Peripheral Stent Placement

Peripheral stenting is one common treatment option for treating Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). A small incision is made in the patient's groin or arm, and a catheter is inserted. A stent is then inserted through the catheter. The doctor navigates the stent to the site of vessel narrowing. The stent is then expanded, and blood flows more easily through the blood vessel.

Pacemaker Assessment and Reprogramming

Pacemakers are tiny devices that keep the heart beating properly. They must be periodically assessed and reprogrammed to ensure proper function.

Intracoronary Stent Placement

After a blocked artery is opened using a tiny balloon (angioplasty), a small wire-mesh tube is placed in the artery to keep it open.

Implantable Defibrillator Checks

Implantable defibrillators help patients who suffer from irregular heart rhythms. They are small monitors placed under the skin to continuously monitor the heart's rhythm. When the device detects ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, it shocks the heart to restore the normal rhythm.

Heart Bypass Surgery

Heart bypass surgery, or coronary artery bypass grafting, is a routine procedure that uses veins or arteries from other parts of the body to provide new paths for blood to reach the heart. The most common vessels used in bypass surgery come from the inside of the leg (saphenous vein) or the internal mammary artery from the underside of the breastbone. This vein is used to bypass the blockage in the coronary artery, thus restoring the blood flow to the heart.

Event/Loop Recorders

Portable event/loop recorders can monitor heart activity for weeks to months, while the device is worn by the individual at home. A permanent record is kept only when the patient activates the recorder during periods when symptoms are felt.

Enhanced External Counterpulsation

Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive procedure that can reduce the symptoms of angina pectoris by increasing coronary blood flow in ischemic areas of the heart.

Directional Coronary Atherectomy

Directional Coronary Atherectomy is a non-surgical technique that is used to widen and open the narrowing in the coronary artery.

Usually, the decision to proceed with DCA is made directly after a coronary angiogram while a patient is the catheterization lab. DCA can be preferable to other procedures, such as balloon angioplasty. Some of the factors that determine angioplasty versus atherectomy are the location and shape of the blockage, the size of the artery, and whether clots are present in the artery.

Coronary CT Angiography

Coronary CT Angiography uses a 64-slice CT scanner to produce detailed pictures of the heart in a few seconds and provide sharp, clear, three-dimensional images.

The 64-slice scanner allows doctors to evaluate the most common causes of acute chest pain with a single scan. It may also permit some patients to avoid surgical procedures, such as cardiac catheterization.

Coronary Artery Stent Placement

A therapeutic procedure similar to PTCA; however, instead of a balloon being solely used to compress the plaque into the artery wall, a thin metal expandable cylinder is inserted with the balloon. The balloon is inflated, causing the stent to expand so that the struts embed themselves in the artery wall, thereby allowing the vessels to remain open and provide optimal blood flow to the rest of the heart. This procedure often results in better long-term results than PTCA alone.

Cholesterol Testing

Cholesterol screening is performed by a blood test. Persons with high cholesterol measurements from a blood sample tend to have a higher risk for coronary heart disease than those with cholesterol in the normal range. Studies have demonstrated that persons with high cholesterol can reduce their risk for heart disease by lowering their cholesterol. It is important to understand, however, that people can still have heart disease even with cholesterol levels in the normal range.

Carotid Stent Placement

Carotid artery stenting is a procedure in which a vascular surgeon inserts a slender, metal-mesh tube, called a stent, which expands inside your carotid artery to increase blood flow in areas blocked by plaque.

Cardiac and Vascular Clinical Research Trials

We participate in numerous cardiac and vascular research trials. The list is constantly rotating because national trials open and close due to a number of reasons such as having enrolled enough participants.

Cardiac Risk Factor Education and Counseling

A program that helps uncover your heart disease risk factors and educate you on ways to improve your cardiovascular health.

Heart Catheterization

A doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries.

Biventricular Pacing

Biventricular pacing works like a pacemaker. It synchronizes several actions of the heart to coordinate contractions of the left and right ventricles, reduce the amount of blood flow that leaks through the mitral valve, and decrease the motion of the septal wall that separates the chambers of the heart.

Arrhythmia Event Monitoring

Uses various monitoring devices to evaluate and monitor abnormal heart rhythms.

Alcohol Septal Ablation

A minimally-invasive treatment performed to relieve symptoms and improve functional status in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a condition in which the heart muscle grows abnormally thick.

Heart Failure Program

A team of skilled nurse practitioners, nurse case managers, social workers, dietitians and occupational therapists develop individualized plans for patients with advanced heart failure. Patients receive a detailed evaluation and are monitored according to their individual needs.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

If you have had a heart attack, heart surgery or other cardiac medical procedure, Cardiac Rehabilitation can help you get back on track. The goal is to help you live more fully, without constantly fearing the serious effects of heart disease.

Cardiac and Vascular Support Programs

We offer educational and support programs for patients overcoming the emotional and physical effects of cardiovascular disease and stroke, their friends and families. This often begins with gaining a better understanding of the conditions and sharing your experience with others through support groups.

Exercise Therapy

Individual consultations with an exercise physiologist. Patients will be assisted with developing or enhancing a safe, effective exercise program.

Heart and Vascular Surgery

A variety of surgery options to treat conditions impacting the cardiovascular system (heart and/or blood vessels). Can range from heart bypass surgery to valve replacement and repair, stenting to aneurysm repair.

Smoking Cessation

Using individualized medical assessment, strategies and health tips, this program helps people identify and reach their goals to stop using tobacco.

Nutrition Counseling

Developing a heart-healthy eating plan can help you reduce your cholesterol and maintain a healthy body weight, both of which are important in the prevention of heart disease. Nutrition counseling provides individual consultations with a nutritionist designed to create a healthy eating plan that is right for you. The nutritionist will review your blood lipid profile, discuss your current eating patterns and provide you with educational materials on foods that will lower your cardiovascular disease risk.

Cardiovascular Risk Management Program

We offer a comprehensive preventive cardiology program that evaluates your cardiac risk factors and develops an action plan emphasizing optimal management of all risk factors, including your lipid and hypertension management and diabetes control. Risk management plan may also include nutrition counseling, education and exercise therapy.

Heart Risk Assessment

An important first step in preventing cardiovascular disease and stroke is determining your level of risk. We offer one-on-one cardiovascular risk assessments, which include cholesterol level and blood pressure checks as well as personal consultations on how to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Heart Failure Treatment

Heart failure is a serious form of heart disease, but it can be monitored and treated in an attempt to improve heart function and reduce symptoms. The proper treatment for heart failure depends on what area of your heart is affected, and can include medicine and/or surgery.

Stroke Treatment

Stroke is a serious brain attack in which blood flow to the brain is cut off.  Stroke patients can lose their ability to speak, understand and move properly -- in addition to the risk of dying -- if treatment is not given quickly.

Stenting

Stenting places a tiny, expandable coil (stent) inside a blood vessel at the site of a blockage. The stent is expanded to open up the blockage.

Angioplasty (PCTA)

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is performed to open blocked coronary arteries caused by coronary artery disease (CAD) and to restore arterial blood flow to the heart tissue without open-heart surgery. A special catheter (long hollow tube) is inserted into the coronary artery to be treated. This catheter has a tiny balloon at its tip. The balloon is inflated once the catheter has been placed into the narrowed area of the coronary artery. The inflation of the balloon compresses the fatty tissue in the artery and makes a larger opening inside the artery for improved blood flow.

Electrophysiology Studies (EP Studies)

An electrophysiology study (EP study) is a cardiac catheterization to study electrical currents in patients who have arrhythmias.

Angiogram (Heart Catheterization)

Also called an "arteriogram" or "heart catheterization," an angiogram is an x-ray of the arteries and veins to detect blockage or narrowing of the vessels.

Tilt Table Testing

A tilt table procedure is a diagnostic procedure that may be used to evaluate a person who has symptoms of syncope (fainting). When a person has a complaint of syncope, the physician will carefully evaluate the person's past medical history and perform a physical examination. If basic components of the examination or history do not reveal a potential cause for the syncope, and the person has no history of heart disease, then further diagnostic procedures will be scheduled.

Stress Testing

Stress testing (usually with ECG; also called treadmill or exercise ECG) is a test that is given while a patient walks on a treadmill or pedals a stationary bike to monitor the heart during exercise. Breathing and blood pressure rates are also monitored. A stress test may be used to detect coronary artery disease, and/or to determine safe levels of exercise following a heart attack or heart surgery.

Holter Monitoring

The Holter monitor is a portable device for continuously monitoring the electrical activity of the heart for 24 hours or more. Its extended recording period is sometimes useful for observing occasional cardiac arrhythmias that would be difficult to identify in a shorter period of time.

Echocardiogram (Echo)

An echocardiogram (also known as an Echo) is a noninvasive (the skin is not pierced) procedure used to assess the heart's function and structures. During the procedure, a transducer (like a microphone) sends out ultrasonic sound waves at a frequency too high to be heard. When the transducer is placed on the chest at certain locations and angles, the ultrasonic sound waves move through the skin and other body tissues to the heart tissues, where the waves echo off of the heart structures. The transducer picks up the reflected waves and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the echoes into an image of the heart walls and valves.

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is one of the simplest and fastest procedures used to evaluate the heart. Electrodes (small, plastic patches) are placed at certain locations on the chest, arms and legs. When the electrodes are connected to an ECG machine by lead wires, the electrical activity of the heart is measured, interpreted and printed out for the physician's information and further interpretation.

Cardiac Scoring (Coronary CT)

Cardiac scoring is a simple test that determines your risk for developing coronary artery disease long before any signs or symptoms are visible. Using a high-speed CT scanner, physicians can detect calcium deposits in the coronary artery and then assess your chances of developing heart disease.

The high-tech scanning equipment makes the test quick, easy and completely noninvasive. The entire exam takes about 10 minutes.

Biopsy

A biopsy is a procedure in which tissue samples are removed (with a needle or during surgery) from the body for examination under a microscope; to determine if cancer or other abnormal cells are present.