News Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM EASTERN
Updated: 11/7/2016 3:00:41 PM EASTERN
For more information, contact Mark Richards.
IRMC Cardiac Cath Lab to Open November 7

(Indiana, November 7, 2016)… Indiana Regional Medical Center’s new diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization laboratory, the Center for Heart & Vascular Care at IRMC, will officially open November 7, 2016.

The lab was granted approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Health last week, after receiving initial accreditation by Corazon, Inc.  The approvals mean IRMC’s center has met strict Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence or ACE guidelines and is able to offer percutaneous coronary intervention.

 “We are extremely pleased and excited to offer this service to the communities we serve,” said Stephen A. Wolfe, President & CEO of IRMC.  “We are confident in our services, our staff, and our quality of care. We also anticipate the lab will help save many lives of patients experiencing heart attacks.”

Coronary interventions performed in hospitals without cardiovascular surgical backup were first approved in Pennsylvania in 2001. Today, about one-third of all catheterization labs in the U.S. that perform angioplasty services exist in hospitals without surgical backup with positive patient outcomes according to studies by the American College of Cardiology.

 

This allows IRMC to provide an acute myocardial infarction patient life-saving, immediate emergent angioplasty and stenting, eliminating treatment delays encountered when being transported miles down the road to downtown Pittsburgh. Patients with advanced coronary artery disease can schedule their elective procedure conveniently, close to home, without the stressors of traveling to a large and unfamiliar city.

“We are very pleased to have recruited an outstanding interventional cardiologist in Dr. Raj Pillai, who has started another PCI program in a Virginia community very similar to ours and has an amazing clinical results portfolio’” said Wolfe.  “Dr. Pillai has been performing high volume coronary interventional procedures since 2008.”

 

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FAQ and Additional Information

 

Why IRMC?
-Sole provider in Indiana County
-State-of-the-art CCL equipment – imaging, hemodynamic monitoring, reporting and image storage, transmission
-Seven full-time cardiologists on staff.
-Center for Cardiac & Vascular Care has top of the line equipment with the newest technologies and experienced staff.

Experienced Cardiologists/ Tertiary Backup
-Utilizing the expertise of Butler Health System, one of the top rated quality heart programs with outcomes exceeding other large centers in the region

Comprehensive Cardiology Procedures
-Diagnostic texting: variety of EKG/monitoring services; echocardiography and stress testing.
-Pacemaker and defibrillator follow-up clinic with 24 hour support from field experts.

Related Cardiac Programs
-Inpatient care from dedicated cardiac emergency rooms, telemetry and brand new, state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit.
-Cardiac Rehab program to build stamina after cardiac event while being monitored by a specialized staff of nurses and exercise physiologists.
-IRMC’s Cardiac Rehab program has been serving our community for many years.  It offers a comprehensive program of monitored exercise, supervised by specialized registered nurses and exercise physiologists.
-Cardiac Rehab also helps patients with lifestyle changes, health education and emotional support for individuals and their families as they recover from a cardiac event. Ask your doctor about referral to the program.
-Wellness Program designed for patients who graduate the Cardiac Rehab program, as well as the public, in a setting that offers a more supervised setting than other facilities and gyms.
-Nutritional counselling within Cardiac Rehab. This service can also be referred by primary care physician or self-referred.

State-Of-the-Art Facility and Equipment
-Entirely new department.
-New imaging with flat panel screens capable of best techniques for cardiac and peripheral cases.
-Large display for optimal visualization by doctors during procedures.

This technology allows us to help our patients win their battles against heart disease in emergency situations, perform minimally invasive cardiac procedures and provide diagnostic care testing, along with interventional peripheral procedures.

Services include: Cardiac catheterization, Carotid angiography, Carotid stenting, internal cardiac defibrillator placement, Pacemaker implantation, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and Peripheral angioplasty.

Best Patient Experience
- Top practice nursing staff who have received special training at Butler Health System and IRMC to provide the best possible care.
- Special teams in place to create care pathways, developed to assure all needs are met.
- Specific transport and transfer protocols to assure patient care is always seamless and optimal.
-Advanced bedside testing and monitoring for patient safety.

Continuum of Care
- Dr. Pillai brings years of interventional cardiac experience with advanced techniques, treating the whole patient; heart and vascular.
- Care includes cardiologists, radiologists, surgeons and primary care physicians.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)
Angioplasty with stent.  A non-surgical procedure that uses a catheter (a thin flexible tube) to place a small structure called a stent to open up blood vessels in the heart that have been narrowed by plaque buildup, a common condition known as atherosclerosis.
PCI is most often performed to improve blood flow, decreasing chest pain (angina), making a patient feel better and increasing their ability to be more active. PCI is usually scheduled ahead of time.

How is PCI done?
A catheter is inserted into the blood vessels either in the groin or in the arm. Using a special type of X-ray called fluoroscopy, the catheter is threaded through the blood vessels into the heart where the coronary artery is narrowed. When the tip is in place, a balloon tip covered with a stent is inflated. The balloon tip compresses the plaque and expands the stent. Once the plaque is compressed and the stent is in place, the balloon is deflated and withdrawn. The stent stays in the artery, holding it open.