Effective Treatments for Heart Conditions



Advanced cardiac care in a community hospital setting

Facing the diagnosis of a heart condition or living each day with an existing condition can be difficult. We understand that people want the best quality care available. They want to feel better and return to a normal, active lifestyle - without hassles, long waits for appointments or unnecessary travel.

That's why Ellis Medicine offers comprehensive cardiac care 24-hours a day at the Wright Heart Center. We’re continually refining the treatment process, introducing new techniques and minimally invasive procedures that help shorten hospital stays and reduce complications.

Learn more about our Cardiac treatment options:

  • Catheterization: One the region’s top cath labs, Ellis performs minimally invasive procedures to evaluate heart function, open blocked arteries and restore blood flow.
  • Electrophysiology: State-of-the-art lab for diagnosis and treatment of irregular heart rhythms.
  • Cardiac Surgery: A leader in cardiothoracic surgery and minimally invasive procedures, performing coronary bypass, vein and artery grafting and valve repair/replacement.
  • Cardiac Valve Clinic: Ellis offers local patients access to Massachusetts General’s promising Aortic Transcatheter Valve trials.
  • Hybrid Ablation: A new treatment option for patients suffering chronic or persistent atrial fibrillation (a-fib).

For more information about the Wright Heart Center, please call 518.831.8840.

Catheterization Laboratory at Ellis

Cardiac catheterization (or cardiac cath) is a procedure used to evaluate heart function, open blocked coronary arteries and restore blood flow to the heart. Ellis has one of the Northeast's highest-volume catheterization labs, performing more than 1,500 procedures each year. We’ve already surpassed national guidelines for door-to-balloon times for emergency catheterizations and stents, but we’re not stopping there. We’ll continue to refine our process and look for new efficiencies to elevate the quality of care we deliver to our patients.

Catheter procedures performed at Ellis:

  • Coronary catheterization: Insertion of a catheter to allow physicians to access coronary arteries for evaluation and treatment.
  • Coronary angioplasty: Insertion of balloons to open blocked arteries
  • Radial Angioplasty and Catheterization: Insertion of catheter through radial artery in wrist (vs. groin artery). More information below.
  • Coronary stenting: Insertion of stent to open blocked arteries.
  • Rotablation: Technique for removing arterial plaque.
Radial Cardiac Angioplasty and Catheterization
New alternative offers benefits for some patients

Interventional cardiologists at Ellis Medicine are now performing radial cardiac angioplasties and catheterizations - a new approach that carries important benefits. In a radial procedure, the arteries are accessed through the radial artery in the wrist, as opposed to entering via the traditional femoral artery in the groin.

Radial angioplasty and catheterization have a few advantages over traditional angioplasty and catheterization, including:

  • A lower risk of bleeding
  • More comfortable for the patient during the procedure
  • Faster ambulation time, increasing a patients mobility and comfort after the procedure

For many patients, including those with chronic back pain and lower leg conditions, the radial approach offers advantages. Patients needing angioplasty or catheterization should talk with their doctor about what the best approach is for them.

For more information about Ellis Medicine’s Wright Heart Center or Emergency Department, please call 518.831.8840.

Electrophysiology Laboratory at Ellis

Cardiac Electrophysiology is the science of diagnosing and treating the electrical activities and conditions of the heart. The Electrophysiology Laboratory at Ellis Medicine was one of the first in the region, treating heart conditions that cause irregular heart beats and arrhythmias using a variety of invasive and non-invasive procedures and drug therapies.

Electrophysiology devices and procedures


Pacemakers:
Implantable devices used to help control abnormal heart rhythms.

Defibrillator:
Devices used to deliver electrical energy to the heart to restore a normal heart rhythm.

Ablation:
A minimally invasive procedure that uses electrical energy delivered via catheter to restore a normal heart rhythm.

Patients who have a heart arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) that can't be controlled by medications or lifestyle changes may require a cardiac ablation to help restore the normal electrical flow of the heart. Most commonly, a cardiac ablation treats rapid heartbeats that begin in the atria (upper chambers) of the heart.

In these instances, a catheter is inserted - most often through an artery in the groin or neck - and navigated to the area of the heart where damaged tissue is disrupting normal heart rhythms. (Heart muscle contractions are created by a regular, measured pattern of electricity flowing through the heart. Sometimes this electrical flow gets blocked by damaged tissue).

The electrophysiologist uses electrodes at the tip of the catheter to pinpoint the exact location of the damaged heart tissue (where the electrical flow is being disrupted). Energy (either radiofrequency energy that cauterizes the tissue, or intense cold energy that freezes the tissue) is then used to restore a normal heart rhythm (electrical flow within the heart).

Ablations are minimally invasive procedures with high success rates of correcting the patient's irregular heartbeat. Some patients watch most of the procedure on monitors. Afterwards, the patient lies still for four to six hours so that the artery through which the catheter was inserted properly starts to heal (to prevent bleeding complications). Patients may feel stiff or uncomfortable from lying still for this period of time, but patients rarely report feeling pain during or after the procedure.

Contact us

For more information about Ellis Medicine’s Wright Heart Center or Emergency Department, please call 518.831.8840.

Cardiothoracic Surgery Center

The Wright Heart Center at Ellis Hospital is one of only three programs in the Capital Region authorized by the New York State Department of Health to perform cardiac surgery.

We treat heart conditions using advanced surgical procedures, as well as minimally invasive techniques that can shorten recovery times and reduce complications. Cardiac surgery patients receive specialized care in our area's newest Intensive Care Unit, featuring the latest telemetry and monitoring technology. Our cardiothoracic surgeons are on call 24 hours a day to deal with complex, life-threatening emergencies. We also schedule surgical treatments according to your needs.

Cardiac Surgery Specialties

  • Coronary bypass surgery
  • Heart valve repair or replacement, including minimally invasive procedures
  • Minimally invasive artery and vein harvesting
  • Arterial bypass grafting
  • Aortic surgery
  • Off pump surgery
  • Thoracic Surgery Specialties
  • Thoracoscopic surgery of the chest
  • Lung and esophageal resections
  • Chest wall surgery

Ellis Surgical Quality Commitment

Ellis has teamed up with MVP and CDPHP to create an innovative program called the Ellis Surgical Quality Commitment. A first for the state, it promises to deliver the highest quality of surgical care for coronary bypass surgery patients. The goal of the program is to reduce complications and readmissions, and lower healthcare costs.

The program involves unprecedented collaboration between a hospital and health insurers to assume the costs associated with hospital readmissions related to coronary bypass surgery.* Patients agree to beomce active participants in their own care: to learn about their condition, follow instructions and monitor their recovery.

Talk with your cardiologist and health insurer, or call us for more information about this new program.

*The Ellis Surgical Quality Commitment program currently applies to only MVP and CDPHP patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery at Ellis Medicine. Certain terms and conditions apply. Call 518.243-4063 and ask for program details.

Contact us

For more information about Ellis Medicine’s Wright Heart Center or Emergency Department, please call 518.831.8840.

Expert evaluation for the best course of treatment

Ellis Medicine’s nationally recognized Wright Heart Center now offers a Cardiac Valve Clinic for patients with aortic valve disease or suspected heart valve problems. This program can provide aortic valve disease patients with a one-stop evaluation from both a cardiothoracic surgeon and cardiologist, during a single, same-day appointment, to determine the best course of treatment.

New Hope for Patients Unsuitable for Surgery

The Clinic offers patients with severe aortic stenosis, who are not suitable for surgery or considered "untreatable," direct access to a national trial for transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) - a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement procedure. TAVI is done through a catheter inserted either in the femoral artery via an incision in the groin or between the ribs.

Ellis is pleased to be working closely with Massachsettts General Hospital to refer qualified patients to the PARTNER (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valves) Trial. Massachusetts General Hospital is one of about 25 sites in the U.S. and Canada participating.

One-year data from the trials shows significantly lower mortality rates (30.7% with TAVI vs. 50.7% risk with standard treatment). TAVI patients also demonstrate enhanced quality of life, especially in terms of mobility and ability to exercise. There is an increased risk of stroke associated with TAVI (5% vs. 1.1% for standard open heart patients). Ellis Cardiac Valve Clinic offers qualified patient direct and prompt access to the Massachusetts General Hospital program.

Benefits of Ellis' Cardiac Valve Clinic

  • One-stop, same-day evaluation by a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Cardiologist
  • All heart valve patients - moderate and severe cases - are evaluated
  • Direct and prompt referal for qualified severe aortic valve stenosis patients to Massachusetts
  • General Hospital’s TAVI program (an advanced, minimally invasive procedure not offered locally, but only through the PARTNER trial)
  • Comprehensive treatment options available through Ellis Medicine’s nationally recognized Wright Heart Center

Cardiac Valve Clinic

  • MONDAYS: 1pm, with echocardiogram testing scheduled prior if needed
  • LOCATION: The Office of Ellis Cardiothoracic Surgeons, Ellis Hospital, Schenectady
  • PHONE: 518.243.3610

The Cardiac Valve Clinic is staffed by heart specialists from Cardiology Associates of Schenectady and Ellis Medicine. A physician’s referral is required.

For more information about the Wright Heart Center, please call 518.831.8840.

 

New treatment option for patients with persistent a-fib

An exciting hybrid ablation procedure now offered at Ellis provides a new treatment option for chronic a-fib sufferers. Combining both surgical and catheter-based techniques, the hybrid procedure opens up a new opportunity for people who would not be good candidates for catheter-based procedures alone, and provides much better long term success rates and freedom from a-fib.

There have been significant advances over the last ten years in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heart rhythms. Many arrhythmias can be cured by catheter ablation, a minimally invasive procedure that’s done by inserting small catheters through veins to reach the heart; but not all patients are good candidates for catheter procedures.

Patients who may have more persistent atrial fibrillation or have other conditions such as abnormally large hearts, may not achieve the same benefits from catheter based procedures. These patients have had few options for minimally invasive treatments and often required surgical intervention, with longer recoveries and increased risks - until now.

The new hybrid ablation is performed by both an electrophysiologist and a cardiothoracic surgeon working together. The cardiothoracic surgeon ablates (creates scar tissue) outside of the heart, while the electrophysiologist uses a catheter to ablate from inside the heart. These ablations restore a normal heart rhythm by blocking the damaged electrical pathways or "short-circuits" that are causing an irregular heartbeat.

By combining the most beneficial aspects of two treatment approaches (catheter and surgery) into a single procedure, hybrid ablation yields many benefits, including:

  • A minimally invasive option (only a few small abdominal incisions are needed) 
  • Higher success rates 
  • Improved quality of life 
  • Improved safety 

Hybrid ablation is typically used for patients with persistent a-fib looking for a minimally invasive option and/or who don’t have other treatment options available. 

Ellis Medicine’s program for the management of atrial fibrillation is a collaborative effort between cardiothoracic surgeons, electrophysiologists, nurses and technicians that provides the best care, tailored to each individual patient. The new hybrid procedure demonstrates Ellis Medicine’s leadership and commitment to expanding our capacity to care for patients with atrial fibrillation.

To learn more about the hybrid surgical-catheter procedure for chronic atrial fibrillation call 518.831.8840.

About A-Fib

Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) or flutter is a common type of abnormal heartbeat in which the heart rhythm is fast and irregular. Dr. Robert Joy, of Cardiology Associates of Schenectady, P.C. discusses the causes of A-fib and the different treatment options.

Learn more about A-fib by watching the videos below: