According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for one in four deaths. One person dies from cardiovascular disease every 37 seconds while someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. It seems like impact of covid death is more or less similar to the deaths of heart disease.
“When it comes to heart care, time is of the essence,” said Sandra Bourne, RN, regional manager of cardiovascular services, Broward Health Coral Springs. “It’s critical that we provide patients with advanced and critical life-saving cardiac procedures close to home.”
To enhance access to care, Broward Health Coral Springs has expanded its cardiac program with the opening of a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab.
“Having this advanced suite of critical cardiac support services in the house helps enable our physicians to quickly diagnose complications and determine which life-saving treatments to use,” added Bourne.
The new 2,100-square-foot lab includes four pre- and post-procedure patient care bays and is equipped with advanced patient monitoring technology to screen and diagnose potential problems to treat cardiovascular disease.
“Combined with Broward Health physicians’ clinical expertise, this new lab is a great example of our commitment to enhancing services for our growing community in Broward’s northwest corridor,” said Jared Smith, CEO of Broward Health Coral Springs. “The cardiac catheterization lab performs a variety of diagnostic tests associated with cardiac and vascular diseases.”
Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive procedure designed to provide detailed and accurate information in cardiac diagnostic testing. The procedure is used to determine if there is any blockage of the coronary arteries, assess heart valve function, and measure and record pressures in various heart chambers. During the procedure, a contrast dye is injected through the catheter to visualize the arteries on an X-ray. After the procedure, a cardiologist reviews the test results and the patient’s medical history to determine the best plan of care.
Broward Health Coral Springs anticipates it will meet STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) criteria in 2021 so that the most acute heart attack patients will be able to receive critical interventional care.
“Being healthy starts here,” said Kutty Chandran, M.D., chief medical officer at Broward Health Coral Springs. “The center’s goal is to help improve the overall health of our community, and this new cath lab offers residents living in Coral Springs, Tamarac, Parkland, and the surrounding communities an invaluable resource to maintain heart health close to home.”
The advanced cardiac catheterization services will provide patients with an expedited level of
care, which is not currently offered in the immediate vicinity.
The new cath lab at Broward Health Coral Springs is the latest capital improvement made in cardiac care at Broward Health. The health system has a 50-plus-year history, dating back to the 1960s when Broward Health opened the first follow-up pacemaker clinic in the country. In the 1970s, the first cardiac cath lab and open-heart surgery took place at Broward Health. The healthcare system has been distinguished as one of the nation’s top centers for cardiovascular treatment and provides comprehensive clinical, surgical, and rehabilitative care.
For additional info visit BrowardHealth.org/BHCS or contact Cardiovascular Services at Broward Health Coral Springs directly at 954-346-4235.
