Follow Your Heart to Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute

Mary Ann thought she was out of options when her serious cardiac condition was deemed inoperable.

 

Her condition, known as aortic valve stenosis, can be treated with heart- valve replacement through open-heart surgery. Some patients are too old or sick to undergo open-heart surgery.

 

Mary Ann, however, followed her heart to Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute, which in 2012 became one of South Florida’s first facilities to offer aortic transcatheter valve replacement (TAVR) – a minimum invasive option that can save lives.

 

“I was blessed to be at the right place at the right time,” Mary Ann said. “The procedure came along when I needed it most, and I am forever grateful for that.”

 

The TAVR option is one more example of how staying on the leading edge of innovation makes Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute a TotalHeart Center – a place that features the right combination of equipment and expertise.

 

For example, adult cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an advanced imaging test that uses powerful magnetic fields and radio waves to create highly detailed images of the heart and surrounding blood vessels. Cardiac MRI helps the Memorial cardiac team diagnose complex problems, including heart attacks, cardiac masses, blood clots and genetic cardiovascular diseases.

 

“Better images of a heart mean better results,” said Lance Cohen, M.D., FCCP, intensivist and medical director of Memorial’s Heart Surgical Unit.

 

Over at the Valve Clinic, doctors can provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of the entire range of valvular heart disease conditions.

 

Valvular heart disease patients from across Broward County and South Florida are referred Memorial, where high-tech tools allow cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists to find the best course of treatment for each patient.

 

Recently, Memorial introduced the revolutionary TotalHeart Lab, which combines the sophistication of an open-heart surgery operating room with advanced imaging technology, creating a hybrid cardiac catheterization lab. In this TotalHeart Lab environment, cardiovascular surgeons and interventional cardiologists work together to perform complex, lifesaving procedures.

 

And beginning in March, the Institute will complete the continuum of care by adding adult cardiac transplant to its list of TotalHeart services. The first adult cardiac transplant program in Broward County will include a new heart failure clinic, and additional surgical procedures as well.

 

Adult cardiac transplant was the only missing component in the whole spectrum of care,” said Richard Perryman, M.D., medical director of Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute.

 

The heart failure clinic will provide a new treatment option with mechanical circulatory support, which provides a bridge to transplant while patients await a new heart, or lifelong support for patients who are not transplant candidates.

 

Ioana Dumitru, M.D., medical director of adult cardiac transplant, heart failure and cardiomyopathy, said the adult transplant program is a natural outgrowth of the work being done at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

 

There, the lives of children born with heart abnormalities are saved, and a foundation is built to care for them throughout their lives.

 

The Cardiac Center at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is Broward County’s first pediatric cardiac transplant center.

 

Since the program began in 2010, 13 children have received new hearts and a second chance for life.