Anmed Opens New Heart Center

AnMed Health celebrated the opening of the AnMed Health Heart and Vascular Center, a 37-000-square-foot facility that consolidates the Medical Center’s heart services in one area.

The Heart and Vascular Center is designed to help patients transition easily among treatment areas. Located at the former outpatient services entrance, the center’s close proximity to the Emergency Department is ideal for heart attack cases and could take another 5 to 10 minutes off the hospital’s already fast treatment times. AnMed Health’s median door-to-balloon time for the first quarter was only 66 minutes, substantially lower than the 90-minute benchmark set by the American College of Cardiology.

“AnMed Health has been a leader in heart care for years. This expanded, upgraded facility allows us to strive for even greater outcomes and give our patients an even better experience,” said Elaine Reimels, senior director of Heart and Vascular Care.

The first floor of the Heart and Vascular Center houses all of the hospital’s non-invasive heart procedures. The Cardiac Diagnostic Unit (CDU) provides observational care for patients with chest pain and congestive heart failure.  Located between the Emergency Department and the heart center entrance, the CDU positions patients close to the diagnostic tools needed to assess their condition and guide their treatment. Emergency and heart physicians have easy access to a 64 slice CT scanner. The center’s four exercise stress test labs, three vascular ultrasound rooms and two echocardiogram rooms are also conveniently located across the hall from the CDU.

The design of the diagnostic area gives patients more privacy before and after testing. Also located on the first floor is a nuclear cardiology lab and two electrophysiology (EP) labs.  EP labs are used for pacemaker and defibrillator implants as well as specialized procedures, such as ablations, a method of treating abnomal rhythms by creating a small scar to stop the erratic heart beat.

The second floor of the Heart and Vascular Center holds four state-of-art heart catherization labs. AnMed Health’s heart catherization labs will be among the first in the area with integrated Fractional Flow Reserve, or FFR, a guide wire-based procedure that measures blood pressure and blood flow through the coronary artery.  The heart catherization labs also have built-in intravascular ultrasound, and their pinwheel design should provide patients with a quieter procedure. The labs connect to a pre- and post-procedure nursing unit with two consultation rooms so doctors and patients have more privacy while discussing treatment options.

The final piece of the Heart & Vascular Center is the third floor surgical and intensive care area. Directly above the second floor cath labs are the hospital’s intensive and coronary care units, cardiovascular intensive care unit and cardiovascular operating rooms.

The construction of the Heart and Vascular Center was one of several projects included in a four-year expansion and renovation program that started in 2007. To learn more about AnMed Health Heart and Vascular Care, please go to http://www.anmedhealth.org.