Florida Hospital Heartland | Living Well | Winter 2018

living well C A R D I O L O G Y A S S O C I A T E S Your HEALTH PARTNER for cardiac care You depend on your heart, and you can depend on Cardiology Associates to care for it. Our cardiologists are part of a network of board-certified specialists offering state-of-the-art comprehensive and noninvasive cardiac care. Your heart is in good hands From the very beginning of any type of cardiac event through subsequent follow-up care, time and quality are always imperative. This is when experience and team dynamics are most crucial and when our remarkable group goes to work. At Cardiology Associates, we combine the latest technology with an expert team of physicians and staff to bring cardiac expertise to the community, offering prevention, diagnosis and treatment of: ● ● Angina (chest pain) ● ● Blockage of arteries ● ● Diseases of the heart, valves and coronary arteries ● ● Heart failure ● ● Hypertension (high blood pressure) ● ● High cholesterol ● ● Irregular heart rhythm (including atrial fibrillation) ● ● Syncope (dizziness) As a Cardiology Associates patient, you can count on our team of experts to quickly diagnose your condition and create an individualized plan of care to address your particular needs. This may include accessing the world-class care of our interventional cardiologists and our Heart & Vascular Center. Our network of specialists works seamlessly to provide you with the latest in cardiac care and help you return to an active lifestyle. We offer three convenient locations in Sebring, Lake Placid and Wauchula. Call 888-991-5761 or visit YourHealth Specialist.org . Bill and Patsy Cross, Sebring Ramon Torres, MD Rey Arcenas, MD Cho Mya Mon Win, MD Deepti Bhandare, MD William Cook, MD What is angioplasty? For people who have coronary artery disease, doctors may use angioplasty to open arteries narrowed or blocked by plaque. Angioplasty can restore blood flow, relieving a type of chest pain called angina, and also help prevent a heart attack. Angioplasty is done in a cardiac catheterization laboratory—also known as a cath lab. A doctor uses a special dye to locate the narrowed or blocked part of an artery. Guided by x-rays, the cardiologist threads a catheter though a blood vessel to the heart, delivering the dye. The same incision is used to thread another, smaller catheter through the first one, over a tiny guide wire. This smaller catheter has a deflated balloon at its tip.When the x-ray shows that it has reached the narrowed or blocked part of the artery, the balloon is inflated to compress the blockage. In many cases, a wire mesh tube called a stent is inserted to help hold the artery open. The stent is collapsed around the balloon and expands to open the artery. The stent stays in place when the catheters are removed. Angioplasty takes between 30 minutes and several hours to perform. It causes little pain, and patients are usually awake but sedated during the procedure. An overnight hospital stay may be required after angioplasty. Sources: American Heart Association; National Institutes of Health