Cardiology

We are Chest Pain certified by The Joint Commission. This means our heart specialists provide a high level of expertise and follow established protocols to help you with your chest pain and heart attack symptoms.

In addition, we are one of only a few hospitals in Middle Tennessee using an innovative mobile health technology application. It allows our physicians to remotely monitor your electrocardiogram (EKG) before you arrive at our emergency room (ER). Monitoring your cardiovascular health ahead of your arrival helps us determine what type of care will you require, which allows us to effectively treat your symptoms right away.

When to go to the emergency room for chest pain

Unfortunately, chest pain (angina) is often difficult to interpret on your own. Many people are unable to tell the difference between heartburn or heart attack. In fact, chest pain is not always heart-related. It can be a symptom of several other conditions, including lung or digestive problems. Ultimately, sudden chest pain and shortness of breath are two of the more common and necessary reasons to seek emergency care.

Heart-related chest pain can come and go and often varies in intensity. Also, chest pain caused by a heart problem sometimes comes with other symptoms, such as:

• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Tightening in the chest
• Weakness or fatigue

We specialize in treating structural heart disorders. Through our program, you will have access to a multidisciplinary team that uses an individualized, patient-centered approach to care. Our cardiologists care for valve disorders and structural heart defects and are skilled in minimally invasive procedures to treat other cardiovascular disorders.

We provide a comprehensive disease management program with a patient-centered approach to treating hypertension. Through our multidisciplinary team, our program offers customized patient and family education, care coordination and advanced treatment options for the disease.

No matter what type of diagnostic imaging procedure you may need, our heart doctors and other heart specialists are able to help. Some cardiac imaging and screening tests we offer include:

• Ambulatory cardiac monitoring
• Angiography
• Ankle-brachial index test
• Cardiac calcium scoring
• Calcium computerized tomography (CT)
• Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Cardiac stress test
• Doppler ultrasound
• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
• Echocardiogram (echo)
• Holter monitoring
• Nuclear stress test
• Positron emission tomography (PET)
• Radionuclide angiography (RNA) or multiple-gated acquisition (MUGA) scan
• Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)
• Vascular ultrasound studies

Our interventional cardiologists are among the country's leading experts in that area of expertise. They help diagnose and treat heart conditions using nonsurgical diagnostic and catheter-based interventional treatments. This includes the use of angioplasty, stents, embolization protection devices and intravascular ultrasound techniques.

We perform thousands of interventional heart procedures each year with outcomes that surpass national standards for minimizing heart damage during a heart attack.

Cardiac catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive imaging examination of the vessels and chambers of the heart. It is often done to identify any narrowed or clogged coronary arteries that are preventing blood from reaching the heart. It can also be used to measure the size and function of the heart and its valves.

These types of procedures are conducted in the cardiac catheterization lab, also known as the cath lab. Patients are given a mild sedative and anesthetic, but generally remain conscious throughout the procedure.

Cardiac catheterization helps doctors:

• Check heart abnormalities
• Determine appropriate next treatment steps, like another interventional procedure or surgery
• Evaluate an enlarged heart
• Evaluate how well the heart valves and chambers are working
• Identify narrowed or clogged arteries of the heart
• Measure blood pressure within the heart

Our cardiac rehabilitation services are designed to meet the needs of patients recovering from a heart attack, heart surgery or stable angina. Our staff provides patients with the necessary information and guidance to make crucial lifestyle changes and works with patients to develop a program that meets their specific needs.

Whether you need inpatient or outpatient cardiac rehabilitation or would benefit more from a maintenance program, our team is here to help.