Cardiovascular Anesthesia

Valley Health Heart & Vascular Care

Facing heart surgery and the accompanying anesthesia is daunting. At Winchester Medical Center we have a dedicated cardiac team of highly-trained anesthesiologists with broad experience in anesthesia for open-heart surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery and procedures such as TAVRs.

Every patient is seen and examined by an anesthesiologist prior to surgery to review important information and discuss the anesthetic plan. Every effort is made to put patients and families at ease. Once in the operating room, our priority is the safety and well-being of every patient we care for. Every operating room is equipped for ultrasound-guided line placements. We perform a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) for every patient undergoing heart surgery with general anesthesia. This allows the team to evaluate heart and valve function at any moment during the surgery.

Balanced Anesthesia

Our anesthesiologists monitor every patient in close collaboration with the surgical team. We provide what's called a “balanced anesthesia” – a combination of sedatives, anesthetic gases, and intravenous pain medications, depending on what is best and safest for the patient. The anesthesiology team monitors and adjusts medications as needed to raise or lower the blood pressure, stimulate the heart and control blood glucose levels. Our anesthesiologists also administer blood transfusions as needed.