When a leading health care rating service identifies your cardiac program as one of the ten best in California, you want the community you serve to know what that means. “The most important thing for the community to know is that we don’t just treat heart emergencies, although that is an important part of what we do,” says Director of Cardiology Services Terry Shanahan, R.N., B.S., R.C.I.S., a Registered Cardiovascular Interventional Specialist with over 25 years experience. “We offer a full-service cardiac program for adult patients.”
At the four procedure room, 18-bed Observation Room, 20,000-square-foot cardiology unit that Shanahan oversees, more than a dozen cardiologists assisted by specialized support staff focus on non-surgical diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heart disease. In the cardiac catheterization laboratory, heart specialists diagnose cardiovascular disease by injecting dyes into the circulatory system that can be “read” on imaging systems. If a blockage is found tiny balloons can be used to open the blockage and spring-like stents can be inserted to keep them open. A recent addition to the diagnostic repertoire at DMC is the advanced 64-slice CT-scanner, which can take pictures of the heart and reconstruct a 3-D image in less than 10 minutes with only an I.V. in place.
Under the overall aegis of the Central California Heart Center, Doctors Medical Center’s cardiologists work with cardiac surgeons as needed for follow-up on diagnostic and interventional procedures. Shanahan describes what that can mean when someone who is having a heart attack comes to the Medical Center’s Emergency Room:
Fast treatment: When someone suffering from an acute heart attack enters the ER, “Time Is Muscle,” says the American Heart Association, because any delay in restoring blood flow can cause irreversible damage to the heart muscles. When every minute counts, it is comforting to know that Doctors Medical Center has a Cardiologist and a full team from the cardiac cath labs available round-the-clock.
Surgery: When surgical intervention becomes necessary, there is no need to move the patient to another facility. Our cardiac, cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeons perform life-saving procedures, including open-heart surgery.
Monitored Recovery: Patients recovering from a heart attack benefit from care delivered in the hospital’s 12-bed Cardiac Care Unit. They then move to a 35-bed stepped-down telemetry unit where vital signs can still be monitored. Doctors Medical Center also has a separate Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit for post-operative care of patients who have had open-heart surgery.
The cardiology unit boasts an Electrophysiology Department that has been in operation since 1989. Electrophysiologists have a number of tools at their disposal for regulating heart rhythms:
-Pacemakers
-Internal defibrillators to treat ventricular fibrillation — malfunction of the heart’s built-in “pacemaker” — with periodic electric impulses
-Bi-ventricular pacing to synchronize the rhythms of the heart’s two sides
-Radiofrequency ablation, a non-surgical procedure for locating and eliminating malfunctioning tissues that cause “short circuits” in the heart’s electrical system
Pace-setting devices can be periodically checked and regulated during a visit to the doctor’s office.
Electrophysiology has become an important option for treating congestive heart failure, a tragically debilitating condition that occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Congestive heart failure patients are typically treated with a variety of medications.
Shanahan stresses that the same principles her staff teaches to recovering heart patients are key to preventing heart disease in the first place: smoking cessation, proper diet, exercise and preventative screening.
For a referral to a doctor who can help you assess your cardiac risk factors and create a program to help you keep heart-healthy, just call our Physician Referral Line at (888) 284-6641.