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New Cath Lab Allows A Peek Inside Hearts
Click here to view this story as it appeared in the Morganton News Herald (Includes additional graphics and information) in pdf format (1.4 megs).
BY JERRY DAVIS
BLUE RIDGE HEALTHCARE
John Gurley is not a man ready to be put out to pasture, unless the pasture is the bottomland he farms in Burke County.
“He’s tough as a pine knot,” says his son Bob Gurley. “He raises enough turnips and sweet potatoes every year to feed an army.”
Clearly, retirement is not a word in John Gurley’s vocabulary. The 84-year-old has a deep reservoir of energy.
After 56 years of marriage to wife Julia, raising five children, serving in the military and working for years in furniture manufacturing, nothing was about to slow him down. But over the past couple of years Gurley began to experience occasional shortness of breath, mild pain in his chest and left shoulder and episodes of feeling weak and faint. Routine exams by physicians couldn’t pinpoint the cause, and the symptoms gradually worsened.
Other family members knew about heart disease all too well. Julia underwent triple bypass heart surgery in her early 70s, and Bob suffered a heart attack about four years ago. Everyone was concerned that Gurley’s symptoms could also be heart-related.
So, three days before last Thanksgiving at around 9 a.m., Gurley was preparing to get to the heart of the matter by undergoing a cardiac catheterization at Blue Ridge HealthCare’s new Cardiac Cath Lab.
Opened in November 2004, the 3,000 square-foot facility at Grace Hospital is a first for Burke County. It replaces a mobile cath lab that had been limited to visits a couple of days each week at Grace and Valdese Hospitals.
In a county where deaths from heart disease are more than twice the national average, the spacious, ultra-modern unit is a giant step forward in raising the community’s standard of heart care.
It’s also a key installment in Blue Ridge HealthCare’s plans for a Hallmark Service dedicated to reducing heart disease in the community. BRHC has partnered with MedCath, a national provider of cardiovascular services, to operate the new lab.
Cardiologists - doctors who specialize in the structure, function and disorders of the heart - perform a cardiac cath to determine whether someone has coronary artery disease - that is, disease in the vessels supplying the heart with life-giving blood.
To perform the non-surgical exam, the doctor carefully threads a thin flexible tube called a catheter through a blood vessel in the arm or groin and into the heart. Through the catheter, the doctor can measure pressures, take blood samples, and inject dye into the arteries or the heart’s chambers to trace the flow of blood.
As the doctor watches the dye moving through the blood vessels and chambers on TV screens in the lab, he sees if the coronary arteries have narrowed or become blocked, keeping blood from flowing freely. Vessels can be blocked by the build-up of fat or calcium deposits or by blood clots.
Based on what the cath reveals, the cardiologist can then determine if heart disease is present, and, if needed, the best treatment, from medication or angioplasty to surgery.
Just before 10 a.m. - less than an hour - John received his cath results. It showed some minor heart problems, treatable with medication.
That was good news for all the Gurleys and especially John. After all, it’s never too early to start planning next year’s crops.
To see video highlights of a catheterization, click here.
JERRY DAVIS is Vice President of Marketing and Public Affairs at Blue Ridge HealthCare.
What is a Cardiac Catheterization?
A cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive test that offers clear, accurate information about the heart and the coronary arteries located on the surface of the heart.
To perform a cardiac catheterization, a thin flexible tube called a catheter is threaded through a blood vessel.
The catheter is inserted through a very small cut made by the physician in the femoral artery in the groin (or an artery in the arm at the crease of the elbow). X-ray is used to guide the catheter through the blood vessel and into the heart.
The physician tracks the course of the catheter by watching it on a fluoroscope, which displays the blood vessels on a viewing screen. Through the catheter, you can measure pressures, take blood samples, and inject dye into the arteries or the heart’s chambers to trace blood flow. X-rays show the blood flow. As the doctor watches the dye moving through the blood vessels and chambers, he sees whether the coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked from plaque build-up on the vessels’ lining.
The patient, who has been given a mild sedative, but not put to sleep, can watch the procedure on the monitor if he wants to. The test takes about an hour.
Why do physicians order a cardiac catheterization?
This test will help the doctor to evaluate the patient’s cardiac condition related to:
- How well the heart muscle and valves are working
- The extent of damage after a heart attack
- Which coronary arteries are narrowed
- The extent and degree of the narrowing
- Treatment: Medical management, an angioplasty or surgery
This test is frequently performed prior to heart surgery to determine if surgery is necessary, and, if so, what surgery is to be performed.
Risk Factors
Heart Disease factors you can control include smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, being overweight or obese, physical inactivity and diabetes.
Heart Disease factors you cannot control include pre-existing coronary heart diseases, including a previous heart attack, a prior angioplasty or bypass surgery, or angina
Age - In men, the risk increases after age 45; in women, the risk increases after age 55.
Family history of early heart disease - a father or brother diagnosed before age 55; or a mother or sister diagnosed before age 65.
Symptoms
If you are experiencing chest discomfort or pain, do not delay. Go to the nearest Emergency Department including Grace or Valdese Hospitals. A process is in place at both EDs to evaluate chest pain and determine the most appropriate treatment.
Chest discomfort - Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
Discomfort in other areas of the upper body - Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath - May occur with or without chest discomfort.
Other signs - May include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness
The second largest employer in Burke County, Blue Ridge HealthCare serves a four-county area and includes Grace and Valdese hospitals, Blue Ridge Home HealthCare, Grace Heights and College Pines Health & Rehabilitation Centers, Grace Ridge Retirement Community, Phifer Wellness Center and a number of physician practices.
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