Cardiology
Cardiology is the medical treatment of diseases of the heart and parts of the circulatory system. Cardiologists are the doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating these conditions.
Heart care specialists in Independence, Missouri
Centerpoint Medical Center provides you with expert heart care close to home.
Our entire care team—cardiologists, interventional radiologists, and vascular surgeons—is trained and experienced in the latest diagnostic and surgical procedures to ensure your heart stays healthy and gets the care it deserves.
Chest Pain Center
When it comes to chest pain, time is muscle. Every hour you ignore chest pain and discomfort (even minor pain), the risk of heart muscle damage increases. Patients who ignore symptoms for more than six hours are significantly more likely to suffer heart damage beyond repair.
You're in good hands when arriving at Centerpoint Medical Center's emergency room (ER). Our trained staff is prepared to quickly determine how best to treat your symptoms, whether it's a heart attack or another cardiovascular-related condition.
As part of Midwest Heart Care's comprehensive cardiology services, the area's first Chest Pain Network has been servicing Kansas City since 2004. Our chest pain center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the ER.
Cardiac testing
Early diagnosis of heart disease is key to getting the proper treatment. Our comprehensive heart screening and imaging services include:
- 64-slice computerized tomography (CT)
- Angiogram
- Arterial doppler
- Blood test
- Cardiac imaging
- Cardiac ultrasound
- Coronary angiography
- Coronary calcium score
- Echocardiogram
- Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
- Electrophysiology study
- Exercise stress test
- Holter monitoring
- Myocardial perfusion imaging
- Nuclear scan
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
- Tilt table testing
- Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE)
In conjunction with other Midwest Heart Care facilities in the Kansas City area, Centerpoint Medical Center has developed an imaging network that stores the actual images recorded during cardiac angiography, echocardiography or EKG. No matter where our patients are, their heart history is immediately available to our qualified heart care specialists.
Electrophysiology (EP) lab
With their new advanced EP lab, cardiologists who specialize in abnormal heart rhythms at Centerpoint Medical Center can treat patients with abnormal (fast or irregular) heart rhythms with catheter ablation, a procedure used to correct the parts of the heart that beat abnormally. The new lab features a digital X-ray imaging system with an imaging tool to treat cardiac rhythm disorders.
- Complex arrhythmia management (Afib, VTACH, PVC, SVT)
- Convergent AFib ablation (with CT surgeon and EP)
- Inappropriate sinus tachycardia procedure (with CT surgeon and EP)
- Lead extraction
- Leadless pacemakers & internal cardiac defibrillators
- Left atrial appendage closure
Cardiac catheterization lab
Centerpoint Medical Center's cardiologists and staff are skilled in various advanced technologies that can be used during cardiac catheterization. We can deliver all of the promising technologies within the cath lab, including:
- Intravascular coronary ultrasound
- Stent placement
- Coronary atherectomy
- Left ventricular assist devices
Vascular imaging
Centerpoint Medical Center offers extensive imaging services to detect vascular disease. We perform the following procedures:
- Angiogram (cerebral, femoral and renal)
- Arterial doppler
- Carotid doppler
- Lower leg venography
- Peripheral vascular ultrasound
- Venogram
- Venous doppler
Heart disease treatments
Lifestyle changes help prevent or control coronary heart disease and reduce the risk of a first or repeat heart attack. Sometimes, though, you may need medical interventions. The following treatments are available:
- ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors
- Antiplatelet drugs (aspirin)
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners)
- Beta-blockers
- Blood cholesterol-lowering agents
- Calcium channel blockers
- Digitalis
- Diuretics
- Nitrates (nitroglycerin)
- Thrombolytic agents (clot-busting drugs)
Additional heart interventions
Sometimes heart disease is so advanced that it can't be managed by medication—especially if the patient has suffered a heart attack. Centerpoint's heart doctors are ready to intervene in severe cases with these procedures:
- Angioplasty — Also known as percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), balloon angioplasty and coronary artery balloon dilation.
- Bypass surgery — Treats blocked heart arteries by taking arteries or veins from other parts of your body (known as grafts) and using them to reroute the blood around the clogged artery to supply blood flow to your heart muscle.
- Minimally invasive heart surgery — An alternative to standard bypass surgery (CABG). Small incisions are made in the chest. Chest arteries or veins from your leg are attached to the heart to "bypass" the clogged coronary artery or arteries.
- Coronary artery stents — A stent is a wire mesh tube used to prop open an artery during angioplasty. The stent stays in the artery permanently.
- Radiofrequency ablation — Used to treat certain types of arrhythmia. A catheter with an electrode at its tip is moved to the place where cells give off the electrical signals that create the abnormal heart rhythm. Then a mild, painless radiofrequency energy (similar to microwave heat) is transmitted to the pathway.
Cholesterol and heredity
Although most people believe your cholesterol levels are mostly determined by diet, in reality, your family history plays a significant role in all types of cholesterol problems.
One type of high cholesterol, called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), is entirely genetic. People with FH can only be treated with medication. Bodyweight, diet, and exercise all have minimal effects on their cholesterol levels and will not prevent artery disease progression.
Elevated cholesterol may be present even in children with FH, and screening for this disorder should start in kids at risk beginning as early as two years old. Everyone should be screened by 20 years old. Treatment can begin as young as eight years old.
Without proper medical treatment, people with FH will develop heart disease and other blood vessel problems. If it's treated, however, most will live a normal life, mostly free of vascular disease. At Centerpoint Medical Center, we're working toward conquering this common and fatal illness.
Cardiac rehab at Centerpoint
If you're recovering from a heart attack or dealing with a cardiac condition like heart failure, your cardiologist may suggest cardiac rehabilitation. Centerpoint has received certification from The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR), meaning our cardiac rehab program is aligned with current guidelines as approved by the AACVPR for early outpatient care of patients with cardiac issues.
Our multidisciplinary rehab specialists have experience treating people with a wide range of heart conditions and will work with you to design a rehab program that meets your needs and goals. Treatment plans usually include instruction on physical activity, nutrition, stress management and other health-related areas.
To see how you may benefit from our cardiac rehab program, call (816) 698-8844.
Care Connect
We're constantly looking for ways to make healthcare easier to navigate. We created Care Connect to do just that: It connects you to the right care at the right time and keeps you and your loved ones healthy.
With Care Assure, one of Care Connect's programs, we screen the results of tests that are performed during an emergency or doctor's visit to find any warning signs and prevent emergencies such as a heart attack. If test results show that you're at risk for a potential emergency, a specially trained nurse will call you to help you get the care you need to help prevent a future emergency.
Preventing Strokes With Left Atrial Appendage Closure Procedures
Dr. Jayasheel Eshcol, Midwest Heart and Vascular Institute, and Dr. Scott Koerber, with Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute, discuss Atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) and surgical treatment options available to prevent strokes.