When you choose Ascension Saint Thomas Heart Women’s Clinic, you get a team of cardiologists experienced in delivering heart care for the unique healthcare needs of women – from preventive care, to managing heart disease, high blood pressure and complex heart conditions during pregnancy. Every appointment with your cardiologist starts with a compassionate conversation. And your doctor takes the time to answer all your questions. We deliver care for the whole you – your physical and emotional health — and help you understand how being pregnant, hormonal changes during menopause and other health conditions, such as diabetes, kidney disease, lupus or depression may be affecting your heart. By getting to know you and working together, you get a heart care plan that’s customized to your needs.
Multidisciplinary heart care for women including advanced surgical care
If you need more advanced care for rare and complex heart conditions, your care team at Ascension Saint Thomas will help connect you with care that’s right for you, including:
- Early detection of coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, heart failure and vascular disease
- Prevention and management of coronary and vascular disease
- Cardiac catheterization to detect abnormalities or blockages in blood vessels
- Specialized diagnostics, such as echocardiogram, coronary CTAs, stress imaging, calcium score to enumerate a few
- Vascular medicine for treating arterial and venous disease, wounds, warfarin failure and blood clot disorders
- Cardiac, carotid, peripheral vascular and lower extremity vessel therapies
- Electrophysiology from diagnostic studies and arrhythmia mapping to pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, and catheter ablation
- Advanced minimally invasive interventional procedures like transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for aortic stenosis
- Cardiothoracic surgery, including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), heart valve repair or replacement, ventricular assist devices.
- Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation
Cardiac assessments for women
At Ascension Saint Thomas Heart our Women’s Clinic is part of a comprehensive approach to heart and vascular care that is specific to women. Your doctor may check your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol or recommend a heart scan to measure for calcium-containing plaque in your arteries. Knowing if you’re at risk for heart disease could save your life. And a simple heart screening can help you and your doctor better understand your heart health.
A heart scan is not for everyone. It is not recommended for routine screening of people who do not have symptoms of heart disease and have a low risk of heart attacks. Heart disease risk factors include hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, tobacco use, family history of heart disease.
Your cardiologist has the expertise to recognize the subtle signs of heart disease found in women. We diagnose and treat women who have:
- Risk factors for heart disease, but no symptoms
- A history of heart disease and symptoms, such as irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and high cholesterol
- A significant risk of having a cardiac event in the future
Using diagnostic cardiac imaging, lab tests and a customized cardiac assessment, your doctor delivers advanced care for all types of heart disease, including conditions that commonly affect women such as:
- Pregnancy-related health concerns, including pregnancy complicated by a heart condition, high blood pressure, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes
- Cardio-oncology for patients going through cancer treatments that affect heart health
- Menopause and heart conditions
- Autoimmune disorders affecting heart health such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and others
- Hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, kidney disease and liver disease
Advanced heart care for women
Your doctor creates a personalized care plan based on your age, risk factors, symptoms
and results from diagnostic testing. Your heart care team works together to deliver treatment options that may include lifestyle changes, medication, noninvasive intervention or surgery.
At scension Saint Thomas Heart Women’s Clinic Midtown, we are part of a national heart care team of specialists sharing best practices, research and the latest in cardiovascular therapeutics and treatments -- bringing the best of women’s heart care to you, including:
- Cardiac catheterization to detect abnormalities or blockages in blood vessels
- Cardiac, carotid, peripheral vascular and lower limb vessel therapies
- Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation
- Cardiothoracic surgery, including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), heart valve repair or replacement, ventricular assist devices.
- Early detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), heart valve disease, heart failure and vascular disease
- Electrophysiology from diagnostic studies and arrhythmia mapping to pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, and catheter ablation
- Minimally invasive interventional procedures such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for aortic stenosis
- Prevention and management of coronary and vascular disease
- Specialized diagnostics, such as echocardiogram, coronary CTAs, stress imaging, and calcium score
- Vascular medicine for treating arterial and venous disease, wounds, warfarin failure and blood clot disorders
Supporting your heart care recovery
Having heart or vascular surgery can be stressful. We start by listening to you and answering your questions. Our heart surgeons and interventional cardiologists use minimally invasive techniques and image-guided technology to deliver advanced treatments, and outpatient procedures to help shorten your recovery. If you need inpatient care after surgery, we provide that too. Our nursing units have advanced telemetry for monitoring. Your compassionate, experienced care team is here to help improve your quality of life. Other onsite services include:
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Heart nutrition counseling
- Heart failure education programs and senior wellness
- Medication anticoagulation management
- Transitional care, bridging next steps once home
