Heart treatment and procedures

Specialists at Ascension St. Vincent’s deliver advanced care for heart conditions.

Angioplasty and stenting is a procedure to improve the blood flow in an artery or vein. The carotid artery is a large artery running along each side of your neck. During the procedure, a thin flexible tube (catheter) is put into an artery in your groin. It's gently threaded up into the problem area in the carotid artery. The catheter has a tiny, deflated balloon at the tip. When it reaches the narrowed part of your carotid, the balloon is inflated. This opens up the narrowed area. This is called angioplasty.

A tiny mesh tube (stent) may be put into this area. It's left in place to help keep the artery open.

A thin tube (catheter) is placed into the heart through a blood vessel in the leg or arm. The pressures of the heart are measured A contrast agent can also be injected into the heart arteries or heart chambers while X-ray images are taken. This can identify structural problems of the heart as well as narrowing in the heart arteries.

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program to help people who have heart disease. It's designed to improve heart recovery and your ability to function, and prepare you for future daily activities. It may be recommended if you have had a heart attack or heart surgery. Cardiac rehab can often help you get better at your daily tasks. It may ease your symptoms and give you a sense of well-being.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is treatment to help restore the normal rhythm (timing pattern) of the heartbeat. A CRT pacemaker is a specific type of pacemaker with an additional wire that goes to the left side of the heart. This allows it to coordinate the timing between the left and right sides of the heart.

This procedure uses radio frequency energy or freezing to get rid of problem areas in the heart that cause abnormal heart rhythm. The abnormal area is found during an electrophysiology study. This study maps the electrical activity that controls the heart rhythm. This procedure can diagnose and potentially cure abnormal heart rhythms.

Your cardiologist might suggest CABG to treat blocked or narrowed coronary arteries. CABG is a surgical technique used to restore healthy blood flow to the heart, improve heart function and reduce symptoms. Our experienced cardiac surgeons perform both on-pump CABG and off-pump CABG. The procedure is chosen based on the severity of the blockage in the coronary arteries.

If you are eligible for transplant listing, you will be placed on the waitlist. Wait times can vary from a few months to several years, depending on your size, blood type, tissue type and organ availability. A heart surgeon will replace your damaged heart with a healthy donor heart once one becomes available for you.

A heart transplant replaces a severely diseased or failing heart with a healthy donor heart, restoring the heart's ability to pump blood effectively. Your cardiologist will work with our dedicated transplant team and provide personalized care every step of the heart transplant journey, from evaluation and donor matching to surgery and lifelong follow-up.

A defibrillator wire is inserted into the heart and connected to an implanted device in the chest. It can send out electricity to either pace or shock the heart back into normal rhythm. This can be lifesaving when life-threatening rhythms are found.

A device may be used to close off the left atrial appendage in some cases. This can prevent stroke without having to use lifelong blood thinners. The left atrial appendage is the area within the heart where most blood clots form. By closing this area off, any clots that form there cannot get out to travel to the brain to cause a stroke. The device is implanted without heart surgery. This device is not right for everyone. It is generally considered in those who are at high risk for stroke, as well as high risk for bleeding. Even with the device, you may need to take blood thinners in the short-term.

Your cardiologist may recommend medications to help manage your heart condition. Mediation may be used to lower blood pressure, prevent blood clots, lower cholesterol and more.

Your cardiologist might recommend a pacemaker if you have irregular heartbeats, a slow heart rate or are experiencing heart block. A pacemaker helps keep your heart regulated by sending electric signals to your heart if it senses trouble. The device is implanted under the skin and helps improve symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness and fainting.

This procedure encompasses several types of procedures that are designed to improve blood flow through the coronary arteries, including:

  • Balloon angioplasty: This is also called PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty). A small balloon is inflated inside a narrowed or blocked artery to re-establish blood flow. This is often done together with a tiny mesh coil (stent) placement.
  • Coronary artery stent: A tiny wire mesh coil is expanded inside the narrowed or blocked artery to open the blocked area. It's left in place to keep the artery open.
  • Atherectomy: The narrowed or blocked area inside the artery is shaved away by a tiny device on the end of a catheter.
  • Laser angioplasty: A laser is used to help open a blocked artery.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a procedure that replaces a diseased aortic valve with a man-made valve. The TAVR procedure may be recommended as an alternative to open heart surgery. The old heart valve is not removed but acts like an anchor for the new heart valve. This procedure is done through small cuts (incisions) using a long, thin tube (catheter), X-rays, and ultrasound.

Cardiac surgeons treat complex heart valve disease to repair damaged heart valves through open heart surgery and minimally invasive procedures, including TAVR and MitraClip™. When one or both of your valves do not open or close correctly, it can lead to reduced blood flow, cause the heart to work harder, and result in symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting, or even heart failure.

A VAD is a mechanical device used to help the pumping function for one or both of the heart's pumping chambers (ventricles). It may be needed when heart failure gets to the point that medicines and other treatments no longer work. A VAD can help someone's heart work when they are waiting for a heart transplant. Or when someone is waiting to see if they are a candidate for a transplant. A VAD can also be a permanent treatment. And it can help a person's heart recover after surgery.

If you are experiencing chest pain, especially in combination with jaw or arm pain, lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting or difficulty breathing, you might be having a heart attack.

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away.

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