Interventional Cardiology
North Okaloosa Medical Center offers advanced technology and personal care to help you live life to the fullest. Cardiac services include programs to help you not only achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle, but also to receive diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation before, during and after a cardiac event.
Our primary mission is to help patients manage their risk for heart disease, as well as offer prompt and accurate diagnosis and treatment. The cardiac catheterization lab offers a host of diagnostic and interventional cardiac services typically offered in larger regional medical communities.
When you're having heart trouble, every second counts. North Okaloosa Medical Center's cardiac catheterization lab features advanced technology that gives physicians quick access to information during a procedure – helping us diagnose the problem and move quickly to treat it.
A cardiac catheterization is a specialized study to check the condition of your heart and coronary arteries, monitor the performance of the heart valves and check for any defects. It can measure the heart's functions, evaluate narrowed or leaking heart valves and determine whether you might need angioplasty, stents or coronary bypass surgery. The cath lab is often the first stop for patients experiencing a possible cardiac emergency: chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or palpitations.
The procedure is performed with a very thin, hollow tube inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and guided to the heart. Once there, the catheter can be maneuvered to different locations to provide information about a variety of cardiac conditions such as artery blockage or congenital heart defects. Sedatives are given before and during the procedure for relaxation, and recovery takes place in a separate area pending discharge or admission into the hospital.
The process takes approximately one hour, and same-day results can be provided. You and your physician can use this report as a guide for your heart treatment plan.
North Okaloosa Medical Center's heart technology offers a variety of non-invasive imaging techniques, including computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance angiography, as well as advanced transthoracic and transesophageal ultrasound systems. Cardiac services offered include:
- Right and left heart catheterization
- Coronary and aortic angiograms
- Routine thallium stress test
- Persantine stress test with imaging
- Other types of stress testing
- Cardiac wall motion studies
- Angioplasty and stenting of coronary and peripheral vessels
- Pacemakers
- Carotid stenting
North Okaloosa Medical Center's cardiac catheterization lab occupies approximately 1,350 square feet and includes a 10-bed recovery area with an integrated, portable monitoring system.