Almost 15 million people in the U.S. are affected by coronary artery disease,
and it remains the leading cause of death worldwide despite decades of
therapeutic advances.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs when plaque causes narrowing or blockage
within the coronary arteries, limiting blood flow to the heart. Typical
symptoms include chest pain (angina), shortness of breath and fatigue.
Coronary artery disease presents in many forms, from sudden heart attacks
to chronic conditions resulting in congestive heart failure.
Treating Coronary Artery Disease
Winchester Medical Center has been a designated
Chest Pain Center since 2006, as recognized by the American College of Cardiology Accreditation
Services. Three other Valley Health hospitals have earned Chest Pain Center
designation:
Warren Memorial Hospital in 2012,
Shenandoah Memorial Hospital in 2020 and
Page Memorial Hospital in 2021. On average, our patients experiencing a heart attack are diagnosed
and treated significantly faster than the national average. The sooner
a heart attack is treated, the less damage is sustained to the heart.
We work closely with local emergency medical services providers in order
to provide the best care. In fact, when an EMS unit arrives on the scene
of a patient with a heart attack, there is instant communication with
the Valley Health heart team. This allows the team to make preparations
at the hospital to receive the patient and provide the most rapid treatment.
Interventional cardiologists at Valley Health offer minimally-invasive
percutaneous procedures (performed through a needle puncture through the
skin) that use a catheter to direct a balloon or a stent to clear coronary
blockages and restore blood flow. We operate cardiac catheterization laboratories
at Winchester Medical Center that include rooms dedicated to coronary
intervention, cardiac devices, electrophysiology procedures and complex
hybrid procedures. We also operate a catheterization lab at Warren Memorial
Hospital offering diagnostic procedures and non-surgical cardiac and vascular
interventions.
At Winchester Medical Center, specially trained cardiologists on our team
offer procedures to open completely blocked, or occluded, coronary arteries
in patients with long-standing angina without open-heart surgery. We have
a tradition of active participation in cardiovascular research that has
enabled us to apply innovative technology.
For patients with chronic stable angina who have exhausted standard treatment
options without relief, we offer
enhanced external counter-pulsation (EECP®) therapy. This non-invasive outpatient treatment compresses the blood vessels in
the lower limbs to increase blood flow to the heart.
Resources
Valley Health offers
resources to teach you about heart disease and how to live a healthier lifestyle.
We are committed to teaching people to recognize and react to the early
symptoms of a heart attack, reducing the time it takes to receive treatment,
and increasing the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
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