Heart and Vascular Care Near Port Charlotte

When it comes to your heart, every minute matters. The longer the heart blockage remains untreated, the more heart muscle can die. Drugs that break down blockages must be administered in the first hours after a heart attack to be successful and minimize lasting damage.

If you or someone you love is experiencing any signs or symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 immediately.

Heart attacks are not always sudden and intense. Many heart attacks start slowly with only mild pain or discomfort. Some people do not experience chest pain but instead have other signs.

Signs of a heart attack can include the following:

• Chest discomfort, squeezing or tightness
• Uncomfortable pressure or heaviness
• Discomfort that lasts more than two minutes, may come and go
• Discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck or jaw, stomach or abdomen
• Shortness of breath
• Cold sweat
• Nausea or vomiting
• Light-headedness
• Extreme weakness or fatigue
• Palpitations and confusion

While many symptoms of a heart attack are the same in both men and women, the sexes may experience different warning signs.

Men may experience symptoms such as the following:

• Shortness of breath
• Weakness or unusual fatigue
• Cold sweat
• Dizziness

For many women, however, a heart attack may feel like a strange discomfort in the back or another sign that is easy to ignore instead of crushing chest pain. Women may feel pressure, squeezing or shortness of breath. Symptoms may even pop up elsewhere in the body, like in the jaw.

The most common warning signals for a woman experiencing a heart attack may include the following:

• Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back
• Chest discomfort with sweating
• Pain that spreads from the chest to the arm, neck or jaw
• Shortness of breath, tiredness, or upset stomach
• Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue

Because every minute counts when having a heart attack, getting to the ER as quickly as possible is important. Unfortunately, more than 50% of all patients experiencing chest pain walk into the emergency department rather than calling 911.

911 dispatchers are often trained to locate you quickly and assist you in early treatment options. Emergency medical services (EMS) can diagnose a heart attack using an electrocardiogram (ECG) and initiate early treatment.

Arriving by ambulance to the emergency department helps ensure you will be seen immediately. EMS can radio ahead to the emergency department that you are on your way, enabling the emergency room staff to be ready when you arrive.

Heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.

Different from a heart attack, heart failure is a chronic, long-term condition that prevents the heart from functioning effectively.

Our cardiologists and cardiac care experts use advanced diagnostic technology to determine the cause and extent of heart failure and to provide comprehensive CHF management.

Medical Management

Medication to treat CHF lowers blood pressure, eliminates excess water, prevents clotting, slows heart rate or alters hormones that affect the heart. Our cardiologists can develop a program that effectively manages heart failure by combining medication and lifestyle changes.

Risk-Factor Management

Lifestyle changes such as losing weight, eating heart-healthy foods, controlling blood pressure, abstaining from alcohol and smoking, and getting enough rest can help improve heart health and prevent further damage.

Minimally Invasive Cardiac Catheterization

Outpatient procedures such as angioplasty and stent placement are used to open blocked arteries.

Surgery

Experienced cardiac surgeons use advanced technology to treat heart failure, including implantable devices like pacemakers and defibrillators.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

AdventHealth Port Charlotte performed the first TAVR procedure in Charlotte County. TAVR is a minimally invasive approach to treat aortic stenosis, the narrowing of the aortic valve, which separates the heart's main pumping chamber from the rest of the body. Patients no longer need to travel out of the county to receive this lifesaving treatment.

During the TAVR procedure, a balloon-expandable or self-expanding valve is delivered to the heart via a catheter inserted into the femoral artery in the groin. The new valve is then deployed inside the native aortic heart valve, enlarging the area for blood to flow out of the heart. There are no incisions, and the heart does not need to be stopped, allowing for a much faster recovery when compared to traditional surgical valve replacement.

Heart Failure Monitoring

We’re also the first facility in Charlotte County to use an implantable wireless monitoring sensor to manage heart failure. This system is the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device proven to reduce hospital admissions significantly.

The system features a sensor implanted in the pulmonary artery (PA) during a non-surgical procedure to measure PA pressure. Patients transmit daily sensor readings to their health care providers, allowing for personalized and proactive management to reduce the likelihood of hospitalization.

The system’s sensor is designed to last a lifetime and doesn’t require batteries. Once implanted, the wireless sensor sends pressure readings to an external patient electronic system. Clinicians can remotely detect worsening heart failure and adjust treatment to reduce the likelihood that the patient will need to be hospitalized.

Heart Pump

We were also the first facility in Charlotte County to offer heart pumps for patients with advanced coronary disease. This technology provides minimally invasive, temporary support for patients with heart failure. The pump allows the heart to rest and recover by pumping the heart and improving blood flow.

A heart rhythm disorder, known as an arrhythmia, is characterized by an abnormal heartbeat—too fast, too slow or uneven. Many arrhythmias don't pose a serious health danger, but our specialists provide advanced care for patients who require treatment.

We use technology to measure the heart's electrical activity and identify damage to the heart. Doctors use tests like an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) or a Holter monitor, which records heart activity over a period of time, to diagnose arrhythmias.

Depending on the type and severity of the arrhythmia, there are various treatment options.

Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)

AFib is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) and involves the heart’s two upper chambers (atria). During ablation, thin tubes are introduced through a blood vessel and directed to the heart muscle. A burst of electrical energy is administered to destroy tissue that triggers abnormal electrical signals or to block abnormal electrical pathways.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)

ICDs are small battery-powered electrical impulse generators that are implanted in patients at risk of sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation. The devices are programmed to detect and correct cardiac arrhythmia by delivering a jolt of electricity.

Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC)

This implant is an innovative alternative for patients with non-valvular AFib at risk for a stroke. The device closes off an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage (LAA) to keep harmful blood clots from entering the bloodstream and potentially causing a stroke. By closing off the LAA, the risk of stroke may be reduced, and over time, patients may be able to stop taking blood thinners.

Pacemakers

A pacemaker is a device that sends small electrical impulses to the heart muscle to maintain a suitable heart rate or to stimulate the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). A pacemaker may also be used to treat fainting spells (syncope), congestive heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Radiofrequency Ablation

This procedure treats rapid or irregular heartbeats. It involves using mild, painless radiofrequency energy to destroy cells in the heart that are creating the extra impulses causing the irregular rhythms.

When a patient comes to the hospital with stroke symptoms, it’s crucial to make a proper diagnosis quickly, as rapid treatment can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke.

Our trained stroke care team can perform minimally invasive treatment options, including:

• Angioplasty and stent placement to open blocked arteries and veins
• Embolizing agents (clotting medications) delivered by catheter to stop blood flow resulting from hemorrhagic strokes
• Thrombolytic therapy that delivers clot-dissolving medicine to treat ischemic strokes
• Minimally invasive surgery to remove a clot or repair arteries and veins

Stroke symptoms include the following:

• Confusion or difficulty speaking/understanding
• Difficulty swallowing
• Sudden loss of vision
• Sudden numbness, weakness or paralysis of the face or on one side of the body
• Sudden severe headache
• Unexplained dizziness and/or loss of balance

Do you know the signs and symptoms of stroke? F.A.S.T. is an easy acronym to help you remember them — and perhaps save a life.

F: Face (One side of the face may droop when attempting to smile.)
A: Arms (Arm or leg weakness on one side of the body; when attempting to raise both arms, one will often drift downward.)
S: Speech (Trouble speaking or understanding speech; words may sound slurred or strange. Difficulty repeating a simple sentence.)
T: Time

If you observe any of these signs, time is crucial. Call 911 or get to the hospital fast.

Heart valves open and close to aid blood flow in one direction through the heart's chambers and out to the body. Damage to these valves can affect the heart’s ability to supply the body with the blood it needs to function properly and can cause heart valve disease or disorders.

Our heart valve specialists use advanced imaging and diagnostic testing to identify damage or disease within the heart valves. Treatment is determined after a physical examination and carefully reviewing family history, lifestyle factors and test results.

For patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis or severe aortic insufficiency, valve surgery may be a viable treatment option to improve heart function.

Our specially trained cardiac surgeons repair or replace damaged or diseased heart valves, including:

• Aortic valves
• Mitral valves
• Tricuspid valves
• Pulmonary valves

Patients with severe heart valve disorders may have risk factors affecting the success of traditional valve replacement surgery. Specialists may recommend a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for improved outcomes.

In some cases, heart disease can be treated using minimally invasive interventional cardiology techniques. These techniques use a catheter (thin, flexible tube) inserted into the arteries. The catheter is guided to the heart to open blocked arteries and improve blood flow. These advanced techniques are performed on an outpatient basis and offer a non-surgical alternative to treating many heart conditions.

Our board-certified interventional cardiologists use a variety of catheter-assisted techniques to treat heart disease, including:

• Cardiac catheterization: the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart for diagnostic and interventional purposes
• Atherectomy: a procedure to open coronary arteries blocked by plaque through cardiac catheterization
• Balloon angioplasty: a procedure to open blocked coronary arteries. During cardiac catheterization, an expandable balloon is delivered through a catheter into a narrowed part of the coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated, opening the artery and allowing blood flow.
• Stenting: a wire mesh tube called a stent is permanently placed in a blocked artery to hold it open and allow blood to circulate

Determining the type and extent of cardiovascular disease is the first step toward a healthy heart. Our clinical cardiologists use a range of diagnostic cardiac procedures to diagnose heart disease.

Cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) Angiography

This procedure evaluates the chambers of the heart and the vessels that supply the heart with blood. This test is beneficial for looking for plaque and regions of narrowing or blockage in the coronary vessels, evaluating abnormalities in the location of the coronary vessels, evaluating the presence of masses in the heart and the presence of abnormal anatomic connections in the heart.

Cardiac Electrophysiology Studies

These specialized procedures are conducted by an electrophysiologist, a highly trained cardiac specialist. During these procedures, one or more catheters are inserted into a blood vessel (usually in the groin) and guided into the heart. Each catheter has one or more electrodes to measure the heart's electrical signals as they travel from one chamber to another.

Echocardiography

A small device on the chest uses sound waves to create images of the heart's structures, movement and pumping strength.

Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG)

A measurement of the heart's electrical activity using electrodes placed on the chest to determine whether a heart attack occurred, the location and extent of heart damage, and cardiac rhythm problems.

Exercise Stress Testing

Stress testing determines the heart's response to different exertion levels. During this test, a patient walks on a treadmill while the heart, blood pressure, and symptoms are closely monitored. It may be combined with echocardiography to evaluate ultrasound images of the heart at the same time.

Echocardiogram

This ultrasound test uses high-pitched sound waves that are sent through a device called a transducer. The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off the different parts of the heart. These echoes are turned into moving pictures of the heart that can be seen on a video screen.

Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS)

This medical imaging methodology uses a specially designed catheter with a miniaturized ultrasound probe attached to the insertion end and computerized ultrasound equipment attached to the other end. It allows the application of ultrasound technology to see from inside blood vessels out through the surrounding blood column, visualizing the endothelium (inner wall) of blood vessels.

Perfusion Stress Testing

Similar to exercise stress testing, a perfusion test involves injecting a small amount of a radioisotope tracer solution. A special camera tracks the movement of the tracer solution immediately after exercise. The test reveals areas of decreased blood flow to the heart muscle during exercise and at rest. Certain medications may be administered in place of the treadmill for patients unable to exercise.

Signaled Average ECG

Perfused tissue is illuminated, and light passing through the tissue or reflected from it is detected to produce an electrical signal. Amplitude pulses corresponding to the subject's heartbeat are detected in the electrical signal, and the areas of these pulses are calculated to produce blood flow values indicative of the blood volume pumped by the heart. The blood flow values may be used alone or with other measured cardiac parameters to evaluate cardiac function.

Tilt Table Test

A tilt table test is a medical procedure often used to diagnose dysautonomia or syncope. Patients with symptoms of dizziness or lightheadedness, with or without a loss of consciousness (fainting), suspected to be associated with a drop in blood pressure or positional tachycardia are good candidates for this test.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

This procedure utilizes near-infrared light to provide a microscopic insight into the coronary arteries.

When open-heart surgery offers the best treatment solution, we bring clinical and surgical specialists together to care for patients. Our providers work together, reviewing each case as a team to improve care and enhance outcomes.

Our providers deliver a range of surgical care, including:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair
• Aortic valve repair and aortic valve replacement
• Blood vessel repair
• Congenital repair
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
• Endovascular repair for abdominal aneurysm and thoracic aneurysm
• Heart defect repair
• Heart valve repair and replacement
• Left atrial appendage closure
• Mechanical device implantation
• Mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement
• Peripheral vascular treatment or intervention
• Thoracic surgery
• Transmyocardial laser revascularization
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Tricuspid valve repair and tricuspid valve replacement

The Beating Heart Approach for Improved Recovery

Sometimes, heart surgery is performed with the assistance of a heart-lung machine, which maintains life while allowing the heart to stop beating. However, our providers perform many procedures off-pump, also known as “beating heart” surgery. This means the heart-lung machine is not used, and the heart never stops beating. This can greatly lower the risk of death, stroke, renal failure and hospital stay.

Bypass Surgery

Bypass surgery is performed in response to heart failure caused by a blocked artery in the heart, obstructing blood flow. Blood is redirected so the flow to and from the heart improves. While it is not a cure for cardiovascular disease or coronary artery disease, it does help make symptoms like trouble breathing or chest pain more bearable, improving quality of life and heart function.

At our Port Charlotte Heart Center, you’ll find a team of cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons who provide a range of surgical treatment options, from open-heart surgery to minimally invasive procedures.

Some of the diseases that we can treat include:

• Coronary artery disease or blockages of the arteries in the heart
• Blockages in the heart valve(s)
• Leaking heart valve(s)
• Abnormal enlargement or aneurysms of the large arteries in the chest
• Heart failure
• Atrial fibrillation (AFib)
• Lung cancer
• Severe emphysema
• Esophageal cancer
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Hiatal hernias
• Swallowing disorders such as achalasia

Some of the cardiothoracic surgeries we perform include:

• Aortic aneurysm surgery
• Beating heart surgery
• Bypass surgery
• Carotid artery surgery
• Congenital heart disease repair
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
• Cardiac arrhythmia surgeries, including defibrillator and pacemaker implantation
• Endovascular interventions
• Heart valve repair and replacement
• Lung tumor removal
• Minimally invasive heart surgery
• Minimally invasive lung resection
• Minimally invasive repair of aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections
• Minimally invasive vein harvesting
• Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement
• Mitral and aortic valve replacement
• Mitral valve repair
• Peripheral revascularization
• Thoracic surgery
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Vascular surgery