The Heart Center at Horizon Medical Center

More than 58 million Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease and many more are at risk for developing it. More than a million suffer a heart attack each year.  Another 300,000 will suffer cardiac arrest.  Other diseases – including strokes and peripheral vascular disease – impact thousands each year. The common enemy?  Clogged blood vessels.

Vascular disease is always a serious medical condition.  But when it impacts the heart or the brain, it can be, and often is, life-threatening.

That’s why The Heart Center at Horizon Medical Center provides a full range of services to help people prevent, treat and recover from heart disease and stroke.  From screenings to diagnostic cardiac catheterization, from angioplasty to rehabilitation, Horizon’s services have earned a reputation for excellence.

Diagnostic Procedures

Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization - Angiograms, or xrays of the inside of the vessels surrounding the heart, are performed in the Cardiac Catheterization or Cath Lab.  If blockages are found, they can often be treated during the same procedure.

Electrocardiography (EKGs) and Holter Monitoring studies - In- and outpatient services include routine and emergency electrocardiogram. Holter Monitors devices will record heart rate and rhythm for a designated time.

Nuclear medicine studies – An isotope agent is used to help physicians see inside vessels.

Most patients assume if they have heart disease, they’ll need open-heart surgery.  Recent medical advances turn that assumption on its head.  Today, only one of every four cardiovascular-related cases requires bypass surgery, according to the American Heart Association.  The other 75 percent can be treated with much less invasive techniques, commonly called interventional heart procedures

Fast action is the best way to prevent or limit damage to precious heart muscle. Several interventional procedures performed by doctors at Horizon’s Heart Center can stop a heart attack before it starts.

Treatment Services

Coronary Angioplasty – A non-surgical treatment for blocked or narrowed passages in a coronary artery.  This procedure allows a normal supply of blood to flow through the heart muscle.  One common type is a balloon angioplasty.

Balloon Angioplasty – Doctors insert a tiny deflated balloon attached to a catheter into a blocked artery.  Once the catheter is in place, the balloon is inflated to push plaque to the artery walls and increase blood flow.  Following a balloon angioplasty, the doctor will often insert a stent into the widened artery.

Stents – These are wire mesh tubes that form a scaffold to support the artery walls.  They can be used following angioplasty or on their own to prevent blockages, increase blood flow and decrease chest pain.

Components of The Heart Center

Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory – Procedures performed in this lab include angioplasties, heart catheterizations, stent placements and pacemaker implants.

Chest Pain Center – Seconds count when there’s a cardiac emergency. Cardiac emergencies, including chest pain, heart failure, arrhythmias and heart attacks, require quick treatment. To make sure every second counts, Horizon earned national certification for its Chest Pain Center, located in the Emergency Department.

Inpatient Critical Care – Our critical care unit is staffed by highly qualified and experienced staff.  Every patient room is wired for telemetry so any patient can benefit from 24-hour cardiac monitoring, if needed.

Surgery – From vascular surgery to carotid artery stenting, Horizon’s Surgical Suites and Special Procedures Room are available around the clock.

Rehabilitation

Horizon provides both inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehab services, including cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs.

These multidisciplinary programs emphasize education and monitored physical activity to help participants learn risk factors, medications, safe activity levels, anatomy, diet and stress management as they safely establish good exercise habits.

Cardiac Rehab includes three distinct phases.
Phase I occurs while the patient is still hospitalized.  From the time of the event until discharge from the hospital, a patient’s needs are assessed and a recovery program developed to help improve physical and mental strength. Exercises may include assisted walking, stationary biking and range of motion exercises to increase endurance and mobility. 

Phase II Cardiac Rehab, conducted on an outpatient basis, helps patients continue a safe exercise program and increases self-confidence during the recovery process.  Patients typically attend one-hour sessions, three times a week for twelve weeks, and are supervised and monitored.  Physicians, nurses, exercise physiologists and nutritionists work as a team to help patients develop healthy living habits.  A physician’s referral is required for participation.

Phase III of the recovery process aims to help patients maintain their healthy lifestyle by encouraging patients to continue exercising and developing a healthy lifestyle in a less structured involvement.

Prevention

As our understanding of heart disease grows, so does our comprehension of risk factors and prevention. There are major risk factors which research has shown are definitely associated with increases in heart disease such as increased age, heredity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and physical inactivity. Men and postmenopausal women are at greater risk.

There are also contributing risk factors, which are less precisely understood such as stress, obesity and socioeconomic status. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance he or she will develop cardiovascular disease.  Among the services Horizon provides for helping people manage their risk factors and prevent heart disease and stroke are:

• Risk Assessments - Try our online Stroke Risk Assessment and check your results or take the American Heart Association Heart Risk Assessment or you can receive a printable version by calling TriStar MedLine^SM at 615-342-1919 or 1-800-242-5662.
• Screenings - Cardiac-risk, Stroke-risk as well as blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings are offered numerous times throughout the year.  Peripheral vascular disease screenings are also offered.
• Educational Classes - Classes on quitting smoking and losing weight, among the most manageable risk factors, are offered throughout the year.

Heart Health for Women
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for women in the United States. Are you at risk? Get to the Heart of the Matter.

For more information on classes and screenings, call TriStar MedLine^SM at 615-342-1919 or 800-242-5662.

Know the Symptoms

More than a million Americans suffer a heart attack each year, and another 600,000 experience a stroke.  The key to survival is recognizing the symptoms and getting fast treatment at a hospital. Early detection and immediate treatment may prevent further injury to the heart or the brain. Drugs such as tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), or other thrombolytic agents, must be administered within a very short window of time after the onset of symptoms.

Know the symptoms of heart attack and stroke, and seek care immediately if you, or someone you are with, experiences them.

Heart attack warning signs can include:

• Pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in chest
• Pain or numbness in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath
• A cold sweat
• Nausea, vomiting
• Lightheadedness

Warning signs of stroke, also known as brain attack, may include:

• Sudden numbness
• Weakness
• Difficulty speaking
• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Severe headache

For more information on heart services at your TriStar hospital, please call TriStar MedLine at 615-342-1919 or 800-242-5662. For cardiologist referral go to Find a Physician.