NEW HEART PROCEDURES, EQUIPMENT BENEFITTING VALLEY PATIENTS

HARLINGEN – New procedures which are now available in Harlingen are benefitting Valley patients needing various treatments for heart conditions and stroke.

A second “bi-plane” Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory recently opened at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, giving the Valley increased capacity to treat heart patients, including those needing “electrophysiology studies” for problems with their heartbeat. The “G.E. Innova IGS 630” bi-plane lab also enhances treatment for stroke patients; including through“3D road mapping”of the brain.

With the addition of the second bi-plane suite, the growing Harlingen-La Feria area now has the ability to treat two heart or two stroke patients at the same time using advanced dual-camera technology (Valley Baptist has a total of four cath labs, and two of those labs are now “bi-plane” suites).

Dr. Frank Mazzola and Dr. Luis Eguia, Cardiac Electrophysiologists, conduct specialized electrophysiology studies – to help determine how to treat problems with the rhythm of the heart — in Valley Baptist’s first bi-plane lab. During these procedures, electrodes on the end of a flexible tube are threaded into the heart, to gather information on the electrical activity of the heart, and to treat abnormal heart rhythms.

Dr. Farley Neasman, Cardiologist, said the catheterization laboratory is able to better serve Valley patients not only because of advanced technology, but because of an experienced support staff of nurses and cardiovascular technicians. Earlier this year, Dr. Neasman inserted the Valley’s first miniature heart monitoring device — about the size of a “triple-A” battery — into a heart patient, in Valley Baptist’s cath lab.

In another case, in April, a 62-year-old Harlingen man became the first patient in the Valley to undergo a procedure using a new type of technology, in which a waxy substance called plaque and calcium deposits are “sanded away” from inside his blood vessels by a new type of high-speed spinning device. Dr. Charles Mild, Cardiologist, performed the Valley’s first procedure using a “Diamondback 360® Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System” at Valley Baptist.

For stroke treatment, the Valley’s only two endovascular neurologists, Dr. Ameer Hassan and Dr. Wondwossen Tekle, use Valley Baptist’s bi-plane lab to perform treatments of stroke and brain aneurysm patients with stroke-reversing medications and tiny medical devices delivered through a catheter (thin tube inserted through the blood vessels going to patient’s brain).
For more information on heart and stroke treatment, consult your physician and visit www.ValleyBaptist.net.

Valley Baptist Medical Center (VBMC) Vocational Nursing Program is an equal opportunity educational institution and complies with all federal and Texas laws regarding affirmative action requirements in all programs and policies. In compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Older Americans Amendment of 1975, this institution does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or handicap in administration of its education policies, admission policies, and other school administered programs.