UPMC Passavant Cardiovascular Center
About Us
UPMC Passavant has expanded cardiovascular services in recent years and now offers residents north of Pittsburgh access to a broad spectrum of comprehensive cardiovascular care in the convenient setting of a community hospital.
From basic diagnostic testing to advanced imaging, electrophysiology services, catheterization procedures, highly advanced heart surgery, vascular and endovascular surgery, and cardiac rehabilitation services, UPMC Passavant’s Cardiovascular Center offers a comprehensive network of cardiovascular services delivered by expert UPMC Cardiovascular Institute cardiologists, community-based cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and cardiac surgeons from the UPMC Heart, Lung, and Esophageal Surgery Institute.
Cardiology
Diagnostic and Medical Cardiology
Cardiologists at UPMC Passavant offer a complete range of diagnostic testing to evaluate the heart’s function and structure. They also offer medical and interventional treatment for cardiovascular problems ranging from arrhythmias and valve disorders to heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and heart attacks. Advanced diagnostic testing includes exercise stress testing and radionuclide stress testing, multi-gated acquisition (MUGA) scanning, EKG and electrophysiology evaluations, and echocardiography.
UPMC Passavant’s Chest Pain Center is a specialty center located in the Emergency Department. It allows emergency medicine physicians to evaluate chest pain patients and facilitate appropriate testing so an accurate diagnosis can be made and vital care can be quickly delivered to reduce heart muscle damage in heart attack patients.
Congestive Heart Failure
Through the Cardiovascular Center, patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) have access to specialists from the UPMC Advanced Heart Failure Center, providing rapid diagnosis and state-of-the-art treatment ranging from drug therapy to cardiac resynchronization therapy devices, defibrillators, high-risk coronary revascularization, and valve repair, as well as evaluation and referral for heart transplantation or heart assist devices. CHF patients also have access to participation in clinical trials of investigational drugs and devices.
Pulmonary Hypertension
Heart failure specialists at the Center have special expertise in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension – a common cause of CHF. Because of the complex nature of the disease, a team of cardiologists, pulmonologists, and other health care professionals work together in providing diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation.
Interventional Cardiology
Interventional cardiologists at UPMC Passavant perform more than 2,000 catheterizations each year in state-of-the-art laboratories, locating and correcting blockages in patients’ coronary arteries whenever possible. This technology also is used to identify abnormalities in the heart's valves. The labs facilitate catheter-based procedures such as balloon angioplasty and intravascular stent placement to allow doctors to perform procedures in the heart vessels.
Electrophysiology
Some heart disease is caused by arrhythmias – when the heart beats too slowly or too quickly, or can’t coordinate its beating properly. Electrophysiologists monitor, diagnose, and treat these conditions using a variety of tools and technologies. Our expert electrophysiologists perform more than 500 procedures each year and offer a full range of treatment options including medication, pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, biventricular pacing devices for the treatment of advanced heart failure, and radiofrequency ablation to treat the most therapy-resistant cases of arrhythmia.
Cardiac Surgery
Open-Heart Surgery and Complex Procedures
Instituted in 1995, UPMC Passavant’s Open-Heart Surgery Program was the first of its kind developed between Pittsburgh and Erie. Since then, the hospital has become home to some of the region’s most skilled surgeons, who perform more than 400 procedures each year, and have particular expertise with surgery on elderly patients. In addition to surgical procedures to repair damaged areas of the heart, the range of open-heart surgeries includes not only routine coronary bypass grafting (CABG) but also emergency and repeat CABG and valve procedures; less-invasive, off-pump coronary bypass surgery; and single- and multiple-valve surgeries for adult congenital heart disorders. Our surgeons’ philosophy is to repair existing heart valves when possible, as opposed to replacing them.
UPMC Passavant cardiac surgeons are part of the UPMC Heart, Lung, and Esophageal Surgery Institute and specialize in complex procedures, such as mitral valve repair, aortic valve repair and replacement, coronary artery revascularization, and left-ventricular reconstruction. And they have special expertise with endovein harvesting – where two small incisions are used to extract a leg vein for use in bypass grafting, instead of one long incision – which can reduce the chances of infection and complications. Patients of the Cardiovascular Center are cared for by a team of experts including cardiac anesthesia specialists and critical care unit staff.
Advanced Interventional and Surgical Treatments
As part of the UPMC Passavant Cardiovascular Center, board-certified vascular surgeons provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for the entire spectrum of circulatory disorders. Vascular surgeons treat patients who have peripheral vascular disease – when arteries throughout the body are blocked. This can cause leg pain, stroke, and hypertension. And if the blocked arteries in the leg are too advanced, a person’s leg can be threatened.
Vascular surgeons also treat vein disorders, including varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency, and thrombophlebitis (a blood clot that causes inflammation of a vein, usually in the leg). They also provide aggressive wound care and treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome (a group of disorders that affect nerves and blood vessels in the area between the base of the neck and the armpit).
UPMC Passavant’s Vascular Interventional Laboratory and Vascular Surgical Service host a range of state-of-the-art procedures including aortic dissections, surgery to treat aortic aneurysms and peripheral occlusive arterial disease, and direct surgical repair of all major arteries in the body. Advanced and minimally invasive options often are used, including endovascular repair of aortic and thoracic aneurysms; percutaneous angioplasty and stenting to treat peripheral arterial disease; carotid artery stenting; and acute treatment for arterial and venous thrombosis.
Wellness, Rehabilitation, and Education
Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
A change in lifestyle often plays a major role in preventing a heart problem from developing or reccurring. The Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program’s specialized team of nurses, exercise physiologists, respiratory therapists, and dietitians helps patients make lifestyle modifications that promote a heart-healthy way of living by reducing risk factors such as sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and high-fat diets through a personalized diet and exercise plan.
Community Education Programs
As part of the hospital’s dedication to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, UPMC Passavant offers frequent programs on smoking cessation, nutrition, risk factor management, and stress management to physicians, nurses, and the community.