50 Hearts and Counting: Navarro Regional’s Cath Lab Reaches 50 Heart Cath Milestone
4/26/2021
At least 50 of our friends and neighbors’ hearts are beating stronger thanks to new access to cardiac services procedures. After much planning and preparation, Navarro Regional opened its cardiac catheterization lab in September 2020. The program is the first of its kind in Navarro County. The program launch was guided by a collaboration with HCA/Medical City Dallas, which lent expertise, best practices and protocols to the Navarro Regional team. The hospital recently celebrated a milestone of 50 heart catheterizations since opening.
A cardiac catheterization is a procedure used to check the condition of the heart, and blockages in the heart arteries. The procedure is performed from the groin or wrist with a thin hollow tube guided to the heart and arteries, where they are seen by injecting contrast under live x-ray pictures. It can provide information about the condition of the heart and performance measurements. An intervention happens when the physician discovers a severe blockage during the catheterization and opens the blocked arteries with balloons and a stent, which is a metal scaffold to keep the artery open. Patients needing a stent are monitored in the hospital overnight; otherwise, a cardiac catheterization is an outpatient procedure.
“I’m humbled and excited by the opportunity to help build a catheterization program from the ground up,” says Jessica Farley, M.D., cardiology. “This is a huge step in providing comprehensive and expeditious cardiac care to our patients in Corsicana. If you are having a heart attack, ‘time is muscle’. If blood flow is not quickly restored to your heart, you could suffer irreversible damage. The sooner we can treat you, the better the chance for recovery and your future quality of life”.
Often, emergency responders are the first to treat someone with chest pain. EMS personnel can perform an EKG on a patient as soon as they reach them; the EKG is then transmitted to the hospital for evaluation and treatment can begin as soon as possible. “Always call 911 if you experience chest pain. Never try to drive yourself or a family member to the hospital. Trained EMS professionals can begin treatment immediately and can keep you safer, especially if your condition worsens on the way to the hospital”, said Mike Fountain, RN, Chest Pain Coordinator and Cath Lab director at Navarro Regional Hospital.
One recent success story is the case of a 40+ year old that came to the ER via EMS with chest pain. The patient had a family history of heart disease and signs were indicating that a serious cardiac event was occurring. The patient was taken to the cath lab and a stent was placed. The patient is doing well, but the outcome could have been much different had the patient not chosen to seek treatment or delayed coming to the emergency room.
After a heart attack or with certain heart conditions, cardiac rehabilitation, a physical therapy program during which your heart is closely monitored, may be recommended to enhance recovery, improve endurance and help with education and nutritional counseling. Patients who complete cardiac rehabilitation often see improvement in their day-to-day lives and return to an activity level that is normal for them. “Cardiac care at Navarro Regional has entered into a new era; the teamwork between EMS, the Emergency Department, Nursing, Administration, physicians and post-cardiac care teams have fostered truly patient-centered, quality care,“ said Dr. Farley.
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