Patient Care

At SBH Health System we are proud to offer a full-service Cardiology Department which includes both inpatient facilities and outpatient offices and clinics in general cardiology and its specialties. Our emergency room is a 911-certified acceptable treatment center for acute cardiac problems, which includes the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening heart attacks.

We have a long history as an outstanding provider of cardiology services. Back in the 1950s, SBH was the first hospital in the country to offer open-heart surgery. Since then we have continued to stay on the cutting edge of cardiology to serve our patient population and beyond. This includes recruiting physicians and staff from the finest academic centers in the country.

Consultative team

Our in-hospital patients have the availability to be seen and tested by our team of general and specialized cardiologists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When indicated, we have a full-service Intensive Care Unit which is staffed full time by board certified intensivists with state-of-the-art monitoring equipment.  We also have outpatient clinics and private offices for follow-up appointments.

Cardiac imaging/Non-Invasive Testing

Our full-service non-invasive laboratory features extensive testing capabilities.  This includes electrocardiograms, echocardiography (both routine and transesophageal, or TEE), stress testing including nuclear imaging, Holter monitoring, event recorders, and a pacemaker follow-up center. These services are available for both inpatients and outpatients.

Cardiac catheterization laboratory

Our state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory offers a variety of inpatient and outpatient diagnostic and interventional procedures used in the treatment of coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease. This includes 24-7 availability for diagnosis and treatment of acute STEMI and Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). Prompt appointments are given routinely for pre- and post-procedure evaluation.  Here are some of the procedures that we perform in our cardiac catheterization laboratory:

Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization: A catheter is inserted through the skin into an artery, usually in the upper thigh or wrist, and then threaded through the body’s arterial highway to the heart. Here, a special dye is injected into the coronary arteries to reveal any possible blockages.

Balloon Angioplasty:  A catheter with a balloon on its tip is passed through to a coronary artery that has a significant blockage. The balloon is then inflated, splitting the plaque and stretching the wall of the coronary vessel to allow more blood flow to the heart muscle and relieve symptoms associated with this condition.

Stenting:  A stent is a small, metal mesh tube placed within a coronary artery after balloon angioplasty to prevent the artery from reclosing. We use mostly drug-coated stents with a special medication to further help prevent re-narrowing of the coronary arteries at the stent site. Like other coronary stents, it is left permanently in the artery, and slowly releases a drug that delays and prevents the build-up of tissue that leads to narrowing of the artery at the site of the stent implantation.

Thrombectomy:  If the artery has loose blood clot and debris within it, there are various types of catheters designed to remove the blood clot and debris from within the artery prior to either angioplasty or stenting.

Heart failure service:

Heart failure, or congestive heart failure, occurs when your heart muscle doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. Conditions like narrowed arteries in your heart (coronary artery disease) or high blood pressure can leave your heart too weak or stiff to fill and pump efficiently.  While not all conditions that lead to heart failure can be reversed, treatments can improve the signs and symptoms of heart failure and help you live longer and improve your quality of life.

At SBH, we offer inpatient/outpatient evaluation and follow up for systolic and diastolic heart failure.  We use a multi-disciplinary team approach consisting of a board certified cardiologist, nurse practitioner, nutritionist and social worker.

Arrhythmia service:

The flow of electrical impulses that coordinate the heart’s contractions may change and cause fast or irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.  When this occurs, the heart is not pumping blood as efficiently as it should, affecting the delivery of oxygen throughout the body.   This misfire can occur at any age, for reasons that are not always understood.  While in many cases arrhythmias are harmless, they can also be dangerous – and, at times, fatal.

Patients are either referred by a cardiologist or enter through the hospital’s emergency department after suffering one or more of those symptoms common with a faster-than-normal heart rate (a condition called tachycardia).  Commonly associated symptoms include palpitations, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, dizziness, or fainting. There may also be a problem with a rate that is too slow (Brachcardia) or irregular (Atrial Fibrillation).

In some cases, the decision may be reached to implant an AICD, a device that monitors the patient’s heart rate.  The AICD gives the heart a shock whenever the patient starts having life-threatening rhythms or an abnormally high heart rate.