Table of Contents
AMITA Health Medical Group Heart & Vascular Team
Welcome to the Summer 2018 issue of Vital Signs. We invite you to explore the expertise and capabilities of the AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute and consider collaborating with us to provide high-quality, comprehensive care to your patients in the western, northwestern, and southwestern suburbs of Chicago.
The AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute provides patients with leading-edge care in a community setting, taking a multidisciplinary approach to offer a full set of comprehensive services in multiple subspecialties, including in our Vascular Center of Excellence, Heart Valve Program, and Heart Rhythm Clinic. Patients benefit from the expertise of our electrophysiologists, interventional cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, and cardiac imaging specialists, who work as a team to determine the best approach to care for each patient.
A new protocol, developed jointly by the Departments of Radiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology at the AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute, now makes it possible to safely offer magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to patients with pacemakers or ICDs. Recognizing that MRI in patients with a pacemaker/ICD is never routine, the new protocol includes touch points with both the ordering physician and the radiologist to confirm that MRI is the best possible test for the patient. The protocol also requires cardiac electrophysiology screening prior to the MRI, real-time patient monitoring, and emergency support staff on standby during the MRI. While the vast majority of patients will be eligible for MRI, the screening process ensures anyone with contraindications will be identified.
AMITA Health Medical Group: CVA Team
The expertise of the AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute is being noticed and recognized. In 2017, the Hypertension Center in Elk Grove Village, IL, became the first community hospital-based center in the Chicago area to be certified as a Hypertension Practice Center by the American Society of Hypertension. In addition, all of the cardiovascular imaging labs at AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute have been fully accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission and the American College of Radiology.
You can contact the AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute anytime by calling 844.366.0614.
In this issue, you’ll learn about cardiovascular care at the AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute, including new minimally invasive approaches to mitral valve repair, the capabilities and ongoing clinical trials within the vascular surgery program, and our comprehensive program for patients with atrial fibrillation. We thank you for your interest in the AMITA Health Heart & Vascular Institute and look forward to working with you and your patients in the future.
