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Procedural Heart Health Care

We offer the following procedures at the Heart Care Center:

Cardiac catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where a thin, flexible tube, or catheter, about the size of an ink barrel in a pen, is steered through blood vessels to the heart to diagnose or treat certain heart conditions like clogged arteries.

Angioplasty

Coronary artery disease, or clogged arteries, is treated when a small balloon mounted on the end of a flexible tube is inflated in a blocked artery. This procedure is called angioplasty. In this specialty you may have heard some common terms including: percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), stenting, and atherectomy. Atherectomy utilizes a small mechanical device to remove coronary (heart vessel) blockage. A coronary stent is a small mesh tube that is used to hold the walls of a coronary wall in place after it has been opened. During a PTCA or PCI a metal mesh stent, the size of the ink barrel in a pen, is placed in the opened artery to hold it open. It is important to open blocked or partially blocked heart arteries, or coronary arteries, to make sure adequate amounts of blood are supplied to the heart. Normal heart muscle requires a good blood supply in order to pump strongly. At Emanate Health, our highly trained interventional cardiologists have the latest technology to help the cardiologists open arteries and prevent heart attacks.

Electrophysiology

Electrophysiologic testing uses small tubes, or wires, inserted into the heart figure out where abnormal or irregular heartbeats are coming from. These tests help you and your doctor, or electrophysiologists, figure out a treatment that could include medications, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator or ICD, cardiac ablation, or surgery. This testing and treatment usually takes place in a special cardiac catheterization laboratory.

Pacemaker

A pacemaker is a small device that is usually (placed) implanted just under the skin on the chest wall to help control the heartbeat. Inside the pacemaker is found a battery and a tiny computer. Different types of pacemakers can be utilized based on the patient’s condition. Pacemakers can help hearts that are beating too fast, too slow, or that are having dangerous beats. Pacemakers only work when they are needed. If your pulse is too slow, the pacemaker sends electrical signals to the heart to correct the beat. Usually one, two, or three flexible, insulated wires run from the pacemaker in the patient’s chest to different locations (chambers) in the heart. If the heart is having a hard time maintaining its own rhythm it may need a pacemaker.

Structural heart program

The Emanate Health structural heart program helps repair structural problems in your heart. Our skilled cardiology team uses minimally invasive procedures that correct your heart problem without requiring open-heart surgery or temporarily stopping your heart.

MitraClip

Otherwise known as transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR), MitraClip helps correct a malfunctioning mitral valve that's causing an abnormal backflow of blood in your heart. With MitraClip, a catheter is placed in a vein in your groin and ran up to the vein in your heart. A small clip is delivered through the catheter to the center of your mitral valve, which helps reduce the backflow of blood in your heart.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

This procedure treats aortic stenosis. When a person has aortic stenosis, their heart has to work harder to push blood through an abnormally small valve. TAVR alleviates symptoms by replacing a diseased aortic valve with an artificial one. To do so, a catheter is placed in the femoral artery and the new valve is delivered to the heart via the catheter. Once the valve is placed correctly, the catheter is removed and the insertion site is closed.

Watchman

Watchman is for people with atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem who need an alternative to blood thinners to reduce their risk of stroke. This includes having had a major bleeding event while taking blood thinners, or a health concern that puts you at risk for bleeding, such as a history of falling. With atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers of the heart quiver and shake and do not contract, or squeeze, as they should. Because blood isn’t pumped out of the heart normally, it’s easier for blood cells to stick together and form clots in an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage. When a blood clot escapes from the left atrial appendage and travels to another part of the body, it can cut off the blood supply to the brain, causing a stroke. In people with atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, more than 90% of stroke-causing clots that come from the heart are formed in the left atrial appendage. The Watchman closes off this appendage which effectively reduces the risk of stroke in these cases. Taking a blood thinner means daily pills, long-term usage, complications to surgeries and increased bleeding risk which grows over time. If you need an alternative in reducing your risk for stroke talk with your doctor about whether the Watchman is right for you.