Cardiac

The human heart is one of the most vital organs in the human body. The heart is a muscle that squeezes blood and functions like a pump. It is divided into four main chambers: the two upper chambers are called the left and right atria and two lower chambers are called the right and left ventricles. There is a thick wall of muscle separating the right side and the left side of the heart called the septum. Normally with each beat the right ventricle pumps the same amount of blood into the lungs that the left ventricle pumps out into the body. Physicians commonly refer to the right atrium and right ventricle together as the right heart and to the left atrium and ventricle as the left heart.

The primary responsibility of the heart is to pump blood through the entire body. It pumps blood from the body — called the systemic circulation — through the lungs — called the pulmonary circulation — and then back out to the body.

Disorders of the heart lead to heart disease and cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of disease and death in America.

Baptist Hospital Receives Gold Standard for Heart Attack Care
Baptist Hospital is the region’s first hospital to receive the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s Gold Performance Achievement Award for sustaining the highest standards and excellence in cardiovascular care.

Baptist Hospital is one of just 167 recipients nationwide and the only one in the region to receive the Gold Performance Achievement Award. The NCDR ACTION Get with the Guidelines (GWTG) Registry combines the best of both the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association’s programs into a single, unified national registry. It has partnering support from the America College of Emergency Physicians, Society of Chest Pain Centers and the Society of Hospital Medicine to supply Baptist Hospital with resources to consistently provide patients with coronary artery disease a higher level of quality, safety, and outcomes.

“Baptist Hospital is honored to receive the prestigious Gold Award for our successful outcomes for heart attack care,” said Bob Spencer, M.D., Medical Director of Baptist Hospital's Door to Balloon (D2B) Task Force. "Our D2B task force has worked hard to deliver a higher level of care to patients and lead the nation in heart attack outcomes. From the time patients arrive to the hospital, through initial care to recovery, our team approach ensures that each patient receives superior care.”

“The Gold Award was achieved through EMS, hospital staff, and physicians uniting as one team to consistently implement a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, stated Leslie Estes-Smith, Executive Director of Heart and Vascular Services, Baptist Hospital. “This award demonstrates the team’s commitment to adhering to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations for best patient care practices.”

Baptist Hospital was presented with the Gold Award at the 2011 Quality Achievement Awards in Orlando, FL on November 14, 2011.

Cardiac Catheterization
A coronary catheterization (also called cardiac cath) is a common and minimally invasive procedure to access the coronary circulation and blood filled chambers of the heart using a catheter.

A cardiac cath is relatively painless non-surgical method used to diagnose heart diease. The procedure is performed by placing along, flexible catheter – a small tube that looks like a cooked spaghetti noodle – through a blood vessel and guiding it to the patient’s heart.

It is performed for both diagnostic and interventional (treatment) purposes. Cardiac catheterization gives your doctor a view of the valves, the heart muscle and coronary arteries at work. If your doctor finds a problem during a catheterization, you may be treated right away.