Heart Care

Caring for Your Heart

For our hearts to run smoothly, we rely on the arteries and veins that carry blood throughout the body and the electrical impulses that orchestrate the pumping of the heart. Blockages or plumbing problems in the heart can result in heart attacks, but arrhythmias or other electrical problems can cause slow, fast or irregular heartbeats.

Caring for those with arrhythmias requires sophisticated diagnostic and treatment equipment that finds and navigates the delicate electrical pathways in the heart. An electrophysiology (EP) lab led by a cardiac electrophysiologist brings the equipment and expertise together to find the source of trouble and delivers solutions to help patients.

Services:

• Diagnostic Mapping
• Arrhythmia Ablations
• Watchman Procedures

Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery is surgery performed on the heart or vessels. This type of surgery often treats complications such as ischemic heart disease (coronary artery bypass grafting), congenital heart disease or valvular heart disease.

Other cardiac surgery procedures performed include valve repair, valve replacement and intraoperative ablations for patients with valve disease including mitral valve prolapse, aortic valve stenosis, surgical valve replacements and closures of PFO. Our surgeons are able to perform aortic valve repair surgeries using a minimally invasive approach, which means a quicker recovery for the patient.

One of the main advantages of our hybrid operating room is the imaging capabilities. The imaging technology provides high-resolution images of the intricate blood and nerve pathways in your body. The clarity and detail of the images leads to a more precise diagnosis and a more effective procedure. Learn more

The hybrid surgical suite at CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System is invaluable for diagnosing and treating heart conditions. A crucial step in performing a heart procedure is getting detailed images of your heart and blood vessels. With the hybrid suite’s high-resolution imaging capabilities, we can obtain images of unprecedented accuracy. Since the hybrid suite is a fully equipped operating room, we can immediately perform an interventional procedure if necessary. Learn more about the advanced technology CHRISTUS is using to save lives. 

Cardiac Rehabilitation is ideal for those who have experienced a heart attack, have had heart surgery, have had a heart-related procedure such as a cardiac stent or angioplasty, chest pain or congestive heart failure. It is designed to help patients recover from their heart procedure, increase their physical activity, and provide education and counseling to help the patients reduce their cardiac risks.

CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System partners with Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab (ICR) to provide an enhanced cardiac rehabilitation program that focuses on a complete lifestyle change, and offers the opportunity for improved health outcomes through education and exercise endurance, which leads to a decreased chance of complications and reduced readmission. There is also the opportunity for those members of the community who do not qualify for insurance reimbursement for the Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab to perform Traditional Cardiac Rehab at our facility. Learn more

Qualifying Events for Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab 

• Acute myocardial infarction (within the preceding 12 months)
• Coronary artery bypass surgery (no time limit- based on medical necessity)
• Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and/or stenting procedure (no time limit)
• Stable Angina Pectoris (no time limit)
• Heart or heart-lung transplant (no time limit)
• Heart valve repair or replacement (no time limit

In addition to our inpatient cath labs on the Highland Campus, CHRISTUS in partnership with Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists, has the only outpatient cath lab in the region through Advanced Heart & Vascular Center. The Cardiac Catheterization (Cath) Lab is equipped with state-of-the-art rooms performing numerous heart and vessel imaging, special procedures, studies, and treatments. Our Cath Lab is staffed by highly trained specialists consisting of registered nurses and radiology and cardiovascular technologists who aid in identifying and diagnosing treatment of heart and vascular problems. Learn more

The new minimally-invasive procedure is only offered at CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System and adds important years to patients’ lives that might not have any other options to repair congestive heart disease.

It’s called Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement or TAVR for short. To date, transcatheter valves have been implanted in more than 70,000 patients worldwide.

The procedure is best-suited for those patients who are not ideal candidates for traditional heart-valve replacement procedures. The TAVR procedure forgoes opening the chest to access the heart, an operation which can cause complications for patients such as seniors who are already weakened, or those with other underlying health conditions. 

During the procedure, doctors run a tiny artificial heart valve through a vein in the groin, up into the aortic chambers of the patient’s heart. The new valve is put in place and begins and recovery time for patients is far less than traditional open-heart procedures.

For more information, call the CHRISTUS Structure Heart Center at 318-68-1674.