Cardiology

Early screening program delivers important results

Elliot’s newly formed Cardiac and Vascular Center recently launched Dare to C.A.R.E., a program designed to detect early signs of cardiac and vascular disease. and educates participants about these conditions. Modeled after the original initiative at the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, MD, the program offers an educational piece by Cardiac physicians and individual screenings at no cost to participants. Physicians and nurses discuss results directly with each participant and forward the information to the participant’s primary care physician.

Elliot Associates were invited to take part in the pilot program in March in return for their generous contribution of a portable ultrasound machine to the program. Elliot volunteers also participated. Each person was screened for carotid, abdominal aortic and peripheral vascular disease. In this first program, 14.3% of the 79 participants were identified with some form of cardiovascular disease.

Early detection of cardiovascular disease is important as cardiac and vascular disease are the number one killers in America today. The Dare to C.A.R.E program is an example of Elliot’s continuing commitment to our patients

The Cardiac and Vascular Center is a collaborative effort between physicians in Cardiology, Vascular Surgery and Radiology to provide the Elliot healthcare network with comprehensive, state of the art vascular medicine and surgical care. Future Dare to C.A.R.E screening programs are currently being scheduled for the public.

Carotid Stenting (Coming Soon)

Patients with significant narrowing of the arteries in the neck and head, due to athersclerosis or plaque, may be at high risk for stroke or death. When a patient become symptomatic despite medical therapy and are at risk for a surgical procedure, there is now an alternative treatment. Carotid stenting will soon be offered here at the Elliot Hospital System, though a collaborative effort with own highly trained vascular specialist.

Elliot Hospital Cardiologists
use Revolutionary
Pacemaker Technology

Thousands of cardiac patients each year in the U.S. receive pacemakers to monitor and control their heart rhythms. Usually, this means they need to make regular doctors visits to download the information stored in their pacemaker. As an alternative, many patients transmit this information from home to their doctor by using special telephone equipment, often a confusing process to elderly patients.

NO MUSS, NO FUSS

Elliot Hospital cardiologists recently became the first in New Hampshire to use a new pacemaker designed to limit a patient’s role in the retrieval of the stored information. A small device placed next to the patient’s bed is connected to the Internet and is programmed to download the information from the pacemaker in the middle of the night while the patient is sleeping. The patient does not need to connect to the device and is unaware the download is taking place. Using Internet and cell phone technology, the information retrieved from the pacemaker is then sent to the manufacturer’s lab in Berlin, Germany. A complete report is compiled and immediately emailed to the patient’s physician for review.

This new pacemaker is implanted in a patient in much the same way as other pacemakers. During a routine operation, the device is placed under the chest muscle or just beneath the skin. The leads are then fed through a vein into the heart’s right atrium and ventricle and connected to the pacemaker at the other end. The pacemaker is activated a week or so after the operation during a short office visit.

CALL US!

The Cardiology Department at Elliot Hospital offers comprehensive diagnostic testing, interventions, education and rehabilitation for individuals with heart disease.
For more information about Elliot’s Cardiology services, please call (603) 663-2597.