Cardiovascular Institute

The Heart of Our System

We’ve designed our Cardiovascular Institute to be one of the most technologically advanced, comprehensive and truly interdisciplinary cardio units. Our U.S. board-certified physicians bring years of leading-edge experience from the finest universities and hospitals in the world. You’ll find that our team approach yields a more complete diagnosis, more accurate treatment prescriptions and appropriate surgical recommendations. At HIMAHEALTH, we believe this helps us deliver value-based medicine.

Our Cardiovascular Institute was the first private cardiovascular center in Puerto Rico. It is a fully integrated center with cardiologists, interventional cardiologists , radiologists and cardio thoracic surgeons. The center is composed of its own surgical rooms, cardiology lab and cardiac intensive care units (CICU), intensive care unit (ICU) and intermediate care – all adjacent on one floor. If a serious or life-threatening condition is discovered in the diagnostic workup, the patient is immediately prepped and moved to an adjacent cardiac operating room for treatment. This timesaving, integrated approach to treatment spares precious minutes and, thus, heart function.

You’ll appreciate the advanced diagnostic imagining technology available to patients at HIMAHEALTH. This equipment gives more accurate and detailed information for pinpoint accuracy in treatment. Along with traditional fluoroscopy and radio-imaging equipment, we’re proud to offer cutting-edge diagnostic capabilities with our cardiac CT and the Aquilion® ONE dynamic volume CT. This amazing scanner has a coverage range of 16 cm and provides whole-organ imaging in one half-second rotation for perfect 3D visualization.

As the premier cardiac center in the region, we perform the full range of modern procedures and surgeries using traditional open surgery, endoscopic and robotic surgery. Additionally, vascular procedures such as peripheral vascular and endovascular surgery are also performed at our facilities.

The most important data regarding our Cardiovascular Institute are the quality of our results and our low mortality rates. We invite you to compare our statistics with any large hospital cardio unit. You’ll see clear evidence of our record of success and feel confident choosing HIMAHEALTH’s Cardiovascular Institute.

SERVICES:

• Invasive Cardiology Laboratory
• Chest Pain Management Unit
• Cardiovascular Surgery
• Specialized Cardiovascular Surgery Rooms
• Cardiovascular Post-Surgical Intensive Care Unit
• Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Unit
• Cardiology Unit for hospitalized patients (4th Floor)
• Invasive Cardiovascular Laboratory
• Catheterization
• Angioplasty (PTCA)
• Angiography Laboratory
• Peripheral Vascular Procedures
• Endovascular Surgery
• Interventional Radiology

CARDIAC IMAGING

Cardiac CT is a procedure performed using a multi-slice CT. This minimally invasive study can see the cardiac structure of a patient. Using this modality we can perform the following procedures as part of a cardiac CT examination.

• Calcium Scoring
• Artery Imaging
• Cardiac Functional Assessment
• Congenital Deformities

Aquilion® ONE CT Scanner

This super-scanner is unparalleled in its capabilities, which include: detection and measurement of toothpick-thin blockages in the blood vessels, detection of nearly imperceptible changes in blood flow, creation of flawless images of any organ, joint or body part in less than a heartbeat. The Aquilion® ONE delivers 3-D images of your heart or brain – including blood flow – to aid stroke and heart patients when time is of great importance for survival. In the past, scanners had to go through many revolutions to show the whole heart. Now, with the Aquilion ONE total organ dynamic volume scanning is accomplished in only one revolution, 320 slice in less than a half-second.

INVASIVE CARDIOLOGY

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) - commonly known as coronary angioplasty is a therapeutic procedure to treat the stenotic (narrowed) coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary heart disease

Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique to visualize the inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body with particular interest in the arteries, veins and the heart chambers

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure to examine blood flow to the heart and test how well the heart is pumping. A doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries.

Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is a mechanical device that is used to decrease myocardial oxygen demand while at the same time increasing cardiac output. By increasing cardiac output it also increases coronary blood flow.

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY

Coronary bypass surgery is a procedure to allow blood to flow to your heart muscle despite blocked arteries. Coronary bypass surgery uses a healthy blood vessel taken from your leg, arm, chest or abdomen and connects it to the other arteries in your heart so that blood is bypassed around the diseased or blocked area. After a coronary bypass surgery, normal blood flow is restored.

Aortic valve replacement is an open-heart procedure performed by cardiothoracic surgeons for treatment of narrowing (stenosis) or leakage (regurgitation) of the aortic valve. AVR is a procedure in which a patient's aortic valve is replaced by a different valve.

Mitral valve replacement and repair is an open heart procedure performed by cardiothoracic surgeons to treat stenosis (narrowing) or regurgitation (leakage) of the mitral valve. A mitral valve replacement/repair is performed to treat severe cases of mitral valve prolapse, heart valve stenosis or other valvular diseases. Since a mitral valve replacement is an open-heart surgical procedure, it requires placing the patient on cardiopulmonary bypass to stop blood flow through the heart when it is opened for surgery.

Other cardiac surgeries: Adult congenital defects (ASD, VSD) and combined valve and coronary surgery.

Thoracic Surgery: Resection of mediastinal tumors, lobectomy, pneumonectomy, bronchoscopy, thoracotomy and segmental pulmonary resection.

CHEST PAIN MANAGEMENT

With chest pain, or angina, it is critically important to get a rapid assessment of your unique condition. Early symptoms of heart attacks are often dismissed or ignored, which loses critical time. Damage to the heart can be contained or mitigated in early intervention cases. Our cardio unit is known for its thoughtful and intuitive approach to diagnosing and treating chest pain associated with cardiac failure.

Our U.S. board-certified chest pain management team includes physicians and nurses specializing in cardiology, emergency medicine, cardiac catheterization, intensive care and cardiac rehabilitation. We’ll treat you swiftly and thoroughly while striving to minimize any damage caused by your surgery.

VASCULAR PROCEDURES

Vascular procedures at HIMAHEALTH include traditional surgeries, endovascular surgeries (from within the blood vessel), and peripherovascular surgery in the areas nonadjacent to the cardiac region. Vascular surgery has enabled physicians to perform remarkable, lifesaving work in a minimally invasive manner that spares pain, time and expense. Angioplasty alone has become a major factor in prolonging life while reducing the numbers of cardiac surgeries.

Some of our featured vascular procedures include: aorto-femoral bypass, femoro-popliteal bypass and distal bypass procedures such as carotid endarterectomy, carotid subclavian bypass and carotid-carotid bypass.

Within our invasive cardiology unit, we perform catheterization for diagnostic purposes, typically through the femoral artery for coronary, carotid and cerebral angiographic procedures. Using a radio-opaque dye that is visible on live X-ray or fluoroscopy, our physicians can observe and diagnose diseases such as atherosclerosis, vascular trauma or aneurysms.

But perhaps the most amazing advances in recent cardio treatments are minimally invasive endovascular surgeries. With the development of intravascular balloons, stents, coils and clips, surgeons are now able to perform many surgeries that before required a major operation. These procedures include carotid endarterectomy, angioplasty and aneurysm clipping. Typically, these procedures require only a short hospital stay, and return to normal activity is dramatically faster.