Heart Center

These tests use safe levels of a radioactive substance to capture cell activity that doctors can't detect using other methods. A nuclear imaging study makes it possible to assess tissue damage from a heart attack or measure how well your heart pumps blood. We offer a range of options, including positron emission tomography (PET) and myocardial perfusion scans.

A CT angiogram takes X-ray images of your heart from different angles. Then special technology processes them to form 3D images of the heart. This study helps doctors examine blood vessels, including narrowing and potential blockages.

An echocardiogram uses soundwaves (ultrasound) to produce real-time images of the heart's muscles and other structures. We use echocardiograms to evaluate problems such as shortness of breath, possible heart attack, valve issues and more.

An EKG records electrical signals that trigger movement throughout the heart. We use EKGs to diagnose many heart problems, including arrhythmias, heart valve issues and coronary artery disease. If we suspect a heart attack, this may be one of the first tests you receive.

This test assesses the heart's electrical activity, enabling doctors to confirm or rule out arrhythmia and pinpoint its source. We guide a thin wire through a small incision in your groin, up an artery and to the heart. Sensors at the wire's tip record electrical activity.

You may receive medication from an anesthesiologist to put you to sleep. Or you may receive light sedation medications so you are slightly awake but comfortable during the procedure.

A Holter monitor is a small, wearable device that continuously records heart activity. Your doctor may order Holter monitor testing if an EKG does not provide enough information to diagnose an arrhythmia accurately.

These wearable devices are similar to Holter monitors. They can be useful in detecting arrhythmias that occur infrequently.

• Event recorder: When you feel symptoms, you press a button, and the device records heart activity. The device transmits this information to your care team. If we detect a life-threatening problem, we contact you and coordinate emergency care.
• Loop recorder: The device automatically records heart activity for as long as a few years.

A large magnet, radio waves and a computer capture detailed, 3D images of the heart. An MRI can check your heart structures and function. It enables us to spot diseased tissue, including damage from a heart attack.

We take ultrasound images of your heart before and after you walk on a treadmill. This test assesses signs of coronary artery disease that may only be noticeable during physical activity.

A stress test assesses how your heart works during physical activity. You walk at a comfortable pace on a treadmill while we watch your heart rhythm, blood pressure and breathing. These tests check for coronary artery disease and arrhythmias. They also guide treatments for other conditions.

An ICD is for people at risk for sudden, life-threatening arrhythmias. When the ICD detects an abnormal rhythm, it can shock your heart to correct the rhythm and prevent cardiac arrest.

Traditional ICDs have leads (wires) that go into your heart. Surgeons implant the SubQ ICD under the skin, leaving your blood vessels and heart untouched.

TEE provides more information than a standard echocardiogram, including the force of blood flow through different areas of the heart. We slide a thin ultrasound device down your throat, past the esophagus and near the heart. You receive medications to numb your throat and help you relax during this procedure.

Our surgeons repair a weak spot (aneurysm) in the body's largest artery, the aorta. In an unrepaired aneurysm, the force of blood flow causes the aneurysm to balloon outward. Eventually, the aneurysm may rupture, causing life-threatening complications. We strengthen the weak spot with a stent, an implantable mesh device that reinforces aorta walls.

We provide surgical options for people who have an abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia), when medications are not successful in controlling it. Procedures we offer include:

• Ablation: Catheters deliver freezing-cold gas to disrupt abnormal areas in the heart's electrical system and eliminate rhythm problems.
• Cardiac pacing: We temporarily place wires in the heart to establish a normal rhythm. The wires connect to a device that uses an electrical current to get rid of the arrhythmia. After the procedure is complete, we remove the wires.
• WATCHMAN™ device: This implantable device is for a specific type of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation (AFib), that does not respond to medications. It helps maintain a normal rhythm and lowers the risk of complications, like stroke by:

  - Closing off the left atrial appendage so blood can't pool there.

  - Preventing existing blood clots from traveling through the bloodstream.

  During the WATCHMAN procedure, here's that to expect:

  1. You receive medication (general anesthesia) that puts you to sleep and temporarily blocks sensations, like pain.
2. Surgeons make a small incision in your upper leg and insert a long, narrow tube (catheter).
3. We use real-time imaging to guide the WATCHMAN device through the catheter and into the left atrial appendage.
4. After securing the device, we remove the catheter and close the incision.
5. You recover in our cardiac treatment unit overnight and go home the next day.

If you have coronary artery disease (narrowing in the heart's blood vessels), angioplasty can restore blood flow.

Coronary angioplasty procedures we offer include:

• Atherectomy: A tiny device carefully cuts away buildups of fatty substances (plaque) responsible for the blockage.
• Balloon angioplasty: We inflate a small balloon at the catheter tip to push blockages against the artery walls, clearing the way for improved blood flow.
• Atherectomy: Interventional cardiologists remove plaques using focused beams of high-energy light.

Following angioplasty, a stent prevents a diseased artery from narrowing again. A stent is a tiny mesh tube that expands to support the artery walls. Stents often have medication in them to prevent scarring that can cause blockages.

Interventional cardiologists use diagnostic catheterization to learn more about your heart structures and function. This information helps us diagnose problems and recommend the right treatments for you.

We evaluate:

• Heart muscle strength and pumping action
• Blood vessels near the heart and whether there are blockages
• Pressure and oxygen levels within sections (chambers) of the heart
• Valves and whether they are fully opening and closing

TAVR may offer a solution if you have aortic valve stenosis. Your aortic valve moves blood from the heart out to the body. In a healthy aortic valve, small tissue flaps (leaflets) snap open and shut to move blood forward. With aortic valve stenosis, stiffened (thickened) leaflets limit how much blood can pass through.

A TAVR procedure restores healthy blood flow by replacing a diseased aortic valve with an artificial one. Doctors deliver the replacement valve using minimally invasive techniques instead of open surgery, for care that's gentler on your body.

You receive a comprehensive evaluation to determine whether you might benefit from TAVR. The team also considers whether you are healthy enough to undergo minimally invasive surgery.

If TAVR is right for you, here's what to expect:

• You receive medication (general anesthesia or light sedation) that puts you to sleep and temporarily blocks sensations, like pain.
• Surgeons make a small incision in your upper leg or chest and insert a long, narrow tube (catheter).
• The replacement valve is at the catheter tip. We use special imaging technology to guide it into place.
• The new valve pushes the diseased leaflets out of the way and starts working immediately.
• We remove the catheter and close the incision.
• You recover in our cardiac treatment unit overnight and go home in a few days. Some patients go home the day after the procedure.If aortic valve stenosis keeps your heart valve from working as it should, you might be a candidate for TAVR. Instead of open surgery, this innovative treatment uses catheter-based techniques to install a replacement valve that works as it should.

We widen narrowed valves or arteries by inserting a tiny collapsed balloon into the passage. Then cardiologists expand the balloon inside your blood vessel, pushing abnormal tissue out of the way.

Highlights of our program include:

• Cardiovascular surgery excellence - Cardiac surgeons at Trinity Heart Center belong to Cardiac Surgery Associates (CSA), a group committed to cardiovascular surgery excellence. One surgeon is a full-time staff member at the heart center, enabling more people to benefit from seamless care. Receiving an evaluation, surgery and follow-up care from the same doctor makes it easier for you to focus on healing.
• National recognition: For the 2018–2019 reporting period, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons rated our program two out of three stars, placing us in the top 8% of programs nationwide. The rating reflects our ability to consistently help people achieve excellent results with low complication rates.
• Personalized care: Cardiac surgeons work with other heart team specialists when necessary to develop customized treatment plans. We use a broad range of tests, including advanced imaging studies, to meticulously plan your heart surgery. These efforts lead to efficient care tailored to your needs.
• Coordination: Heart surgeons and cardiologists combine their expertise to safely treat complex heart valve disease cases. We may use a hybrid minimally invasive surgical approach (catheterization) to implant a replacement valve. If catheterization doesn't go as planned, a surgeon can step in right away to help.
• Cardiac treatment unit: Before and after surgery, you receive care in a unit dedicated to heart patients. You stay in a spacious, private room that feels like home. Specially trained cardiac nurses monitor you and keep you comfortable. And your loved ones can wait in a spacious, comfortable waiting area while you are in surgery.

We perform some procedures using open-heart surgery. These offerings include:

• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG): Surgeons transplant blood vessels from another part of the body into the heart. The new vessels create an alternate route (bypass) around clogged arteries.
• Valve repair or replacement: We repair damaged heart valves by loosening stiff tissue. If the valve can no longer do its job, we replace it with a valve made of donor tissue.

Four-part cooking series held on Thursday evenings from 5:30-7 p.m.
Cooking with Heart Foundational Series is intended for anyone who wants to transition to plant focused eating for health. You will get innovative ways to easily incorporate plant focused dishes without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. You also learn foundational skills for creating dishes from whole foods. We cover key concepts like nutrient density, mindful eating, hunger, knife skills and adapting your new eating style to social events with friends and family. Class topics include:

• Show Your Heart Some Love
• Redesign Your Kitchen for Health-Centric Eating
• What's the Big Deal About Eating Plants?
• Mastering Mindful Eating

There is no cost to attend this course. UnityPoint Health thanks Trinity Health Foundation's support. UnityPoint Health - Trinity Heart Center offers this gift of health to our community to support heart healthy habits.

Four-part cooking series held on Wednesdays 6-7 p.m.

Learn easy recipes and cooking tips for anyone touched by diabetes. Classes share recipes that manage blood sugars. Boost your confidence in the kitchen preparing meals that will ramp up your health and help you feel better too. Have fun mastering flavor-filled, healthy dishes that are quick to get on the table. Class topics include:

• Clearing Up Carbohydrate
• Healthy Snacks on the Go
• Mind Eating Tricks
• Taking it All to Heart

Cost: FREE thanks to support from the Quad Cities Diabetes Association, Trinity Health Foundation and Genesis Health System.

Four-part cooking series held on Tuesdays at Noon.

Learn easy recipes and cooking tips for anyone touched by cancer - survivors, caregivers and loved ones. The dishes prepared emphasize how nutrition can help reduce the risk of cancer or cancer recurrence through inclusion of foods in their most powerful form (raw, cooked and in combination with other foods.) Class topics include:

• Myth-busting and truths (sugar, alkaline, green tea, turmeric)
• Treasures in Eating the Rainbow
• Eating Made Uncomplicated: Fun and Easy Meal Planning
• Boost the Power of Food on Your Plate

There is no cost to attend this course. UnityPoint Health thanks Trinity Health Foundation and Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities for their support. UnityPoint Health - Trinity Heart Center offers this gift of health to our community to support heart healthy habits.