Cardiology

We use a team approach to coronary heart disease treatment, consisting of highly skilled surgeons, cardiologists, nurses and technicians who work together to develop the best treatment plan for every patient.

Heart failure is a serious condition in which the heart can’t pump enough blood throughout the body. It can't be cured, but it can be managed. Our cardiology staff is highly trained in treating heart failure and can help patients live an everyday life through various treatments and medications.

Our chest pain centers offer emergency heart care 24/7. They routinely exceed the national quality goal of a door-to-angioplasty time in under 90 minutes, which is the time considered ideal for clearing a blockage and having a patient survive a heart attack. We use a team-based approach with cardiologists, surgeons, nurses and rehabilitation therapists to ensure patients get quality care both during and after treatment.

The electrophysiologists at the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute are world-renowned educators, researchers and clinicians who treat all types of heart arrhythmias.

Amyloidosis causes an abnormal protein to build up in the body. These proteins accumulate within various organs, including your heart, eventually causing them to fail.

The heart specialists in HCA Midwest Health's cardiology program are highly trained in treating amyloidosis. It can help you live a normal life through various treatments and medications.

To talk with one of our cardiologists, you can schedule an appointment.

What causes amyloidosis?

Some types of amyloidosis are hereditary, while others can be brought on by age. Amyloidosis is a rare and potentially life-threatening disease is more common in people older than 65 years old and in African-American populations.

Types of amyloidosis

There are various types of amyloidosis affecting patients, including:

• AL (primary) amyloidosis: Also known as immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis, this is a condition in which an abnormal protein called amyloid builds up in tissues and organs, affecting their shape and functionality. Common treatments for AL include a combination of chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. The median age of patients who are diagnosed with this type is 63 years old.
• AA (secondary) amyloidosis: Secondary amyloidosis (AA) is a rare condition caused by inflammation resulting from either infectious chronic diseases or inflammatory chronic diseases. Treatment involves eliminating the source of inflammation.
• ATTR (familial) amyloidosis: Familial or hereditary amyloidosis develops among people who inherit a specific genetic abnormality. In the most common type, the liver produces an abnormal or mutated form of a protein called transthyretin. Treatment for this form of amyloidosis is usually liver transplantation, although newer therapies are in clinical trials.
• Wild-type (senile) ATTR amyloidosis: Age-related amyloidosis is also caused by the transthyretin protein, but in this instance the protein is normal or “wild type” in sequence, not mutated. The vast majority of cases of age-related amyloidosis occur in men 70 years old and older and involve symptoms of progressive heart failure.

Signs and symptoms of amyloidosis

Each patient has symptoms that depend on the type of amyloidosis and the organs involved. Many of these symptoms are general and can occur in other diseases, sometimes making diagnosis difficult. Here is a list of signs, symptoms or conditions that can help diagnose amyloidosis.

• Atraumatic biceps tendon rupture
• Diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists
• Digestive issues, such as nausea, diarrhea or constipation
• Fatigue
• Hand pain, numbness or tingling in your fingers
• Heart and blood pressure medicines can make you feel worse
• Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• Irregular heart rhythm or rate
• Knee or hip replacement
• Lightheadedness when you stand up
• Pain or numbness in your lower back and legs, which may be caused by lumbar spinal stenosis, or narrowing of the lower part of the spine
• Shortness of breath
• Swelling (edema) in the extremities
• Unexplained weight loss

Amyloidosis diagnosis and treatment

Misdiagnosis is common with people with amyloidosis. A cardiologist will ask about your symptoms and medical history. It’s important to tell explain your symptoms and conditions as much as you can because amyloidosis symptoms can be similar to those of other conditions. The following tests can help make a diagnosis:

• Blood and urine tests: These tests can be done to assess amyloid protein levels. Blood tests can also check your thyroid and liver function.
• Echocardiogram: This imaging test uses sound waves to create pictures of your heart.
• Biopsy: For this test, a doctor removes a sample of tissue from your liver, nerves, kidneys, heart, abdominal fat, or other organs. Analyzing the piece of tissue can help your doctor figure out what type of amyloid deposit you have.
• Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy: Bone marrow aspiration uses a needle to remove a small amount of fluid from inside your bones. A bone marrow biopsy removes some of the tissue from inside your bone. These tests may be done together or separately. The samples are sent to a lab, where they’re checked for abnormal cells.

If a diagnosis is made, your doctor will figure out which type you have. This can be done with tests like immunochemical staining and protein electrophoresis. These include:

• Amyloidosis medication therapy
• Chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant
• Heart transplant
• Liver transplant
• Using a combination of steroid and chemotherapy drugs

Our interventional cardiologists have deep expertise and experience with leading-edge, minimally invasive procedures for cardiac emergencies and the treatment of heart conditions. Some of the types of heart surgery we conduct include:

• Angioplasty
• Aortic stent grafting
• Cardiac stent
• Chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention
• Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
• Coronary artery bypass
• Minimally invasive interventional radiology procedures
• Mitral valve regurgitation
• Off-pump coronary artery bypass (CAB)
• Surgical left ventricular assist device (LVAD)

Cardiologists with HCA Midwest Health are specialists experienced in structural heart surgery. They use the latest techniques to repair heart abnormalities and diseased valves to improve your quality of life. Procedures include:

• Aortic valve replacement
• Left atrial appendage closure (LAA)
• Mitral valve surgery
  • Transcatheter mitral valve repair
  • Transcatheter mitral valve replacement
• Patent foramen ovale occlusion (PFO)
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

Our vascular surgeons are skilled in the latest surgical methods to treat serious vascular conditions and were the first in the Kansas City area to perform minimally invasive bypass surgery. The vein clinics at HCA Midwest Health offer state-of-the-art treatments for chronic venous insufficiency (the vein valve system is not functioning properly) and varicose veins.

Conditions we treat include:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Aortic dissection
• Carotid artery disease
• Claudication
• Critical limb ischemia
• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Fibromuscular dysplasia
• May-Thurner syndrome
• Nutcracker syndrome
• Peripheral artery disease
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Renal artery disease
• Thoracic aortic aneurysm
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Varicose veins
• Vertebral artery disease
• Visceral artery disease

If you're recovering from a heart attack or have a heart condition such as congestive heart failure, your cardiologist may suggest cardiac rehabilitation. Our therapists and rehab specialists have experience in working with a variety of cardiac conditions, and we'll work with you to design a rehab program to meet your needs.

Our pediatric cardiology department has surgeons that are board-certified in pediatric care and fellowship-trained in pediatric cardiology. They are trained to treat infants and children who have congenital (present at birth) heart abnormalities.

The HCA Midwest Health clinical research program offers another therapeutic option for patients through clinical trials.

HCA Midwest Health offers the area's only patented information technology system that automatically scans diagnostic tests performed during an inpatient, outpatient or emergency room visit for additional signs that you may be at risk for a future cardiac emergency. If you are determined to be at risk, a nurse navigator will contact you to explain the findings and connect you with the appropriate follow up care.