Read about recent advances at the institute:

Introducing Drug-Eluted Stents
Interventional Cardiology Definitions
Lessening the Risk of Angioplasty Procedures
A QC First In Genesis Cath Lab
Cardiovascular Health In Life Over Fifty
Angioplasty: Alternative To Open Heart Bypass
Device May Lessen Risks Of Angioplasty In Vein Bypasses
GMC Streamlines Care For Chest Pain Patients
When Hearts Skip a Beat
Pacemaker Placement Makes a Difference
A Two-Day Stay Instead of Seven
Beating Heart Surgery Improves Patient's Quality of Life
Intravascular Ultrasound
Sometimes Holes are Good
Heparin Coated Stents
Device Closes Hole In Heart To Prevent Strokes

Advancing Treatment Options 

Advances in technologies, drugs and procedures are expected to rapidly change within the next decade. Heart disease will be detected earlier. Treatment options will multiply. We will see an increase in less-invasive options for those patients who have detected heart disease early, and more complex surgical options for the very sick who may not previously have had options at all. 

Patients seeking treatment options can find them through Genesis Heart Institute specialists. Many advanced procedures take place here.

Drug Therapy Helps Manage Heart Disease
Heart specialists are looking to enhance the use of drugs that help existing heart patients prevent a re-occurrence of problems. Drug therapy programs include creating an individual plan for lifestyle changes including diet and exercise, patient education and laboratory and statistical monitoring of results.

A drug class known as statins lowers harmful levels of cholesterol, or lipid levels. Its use is rapidly growing as part of preventive treatment for persons who have yet to suffer a cardiac event.

"We know these cholesterol management drugs can modify lipid levels by greater percentages than if diet changes alone are used," says Dr. Philip Habak, medical director of Cardiovascular Medicine, P.C., lipid clinic. "In most patients this new class of drugs works well. The patient needs physician supervision and frequent laboratory testing. They should aware of interactions with other medications and report to their physician any new medication that might be added to their regimen."

Surgical Innovations
Institute vascular and cardio-thoracic surgeons continue to bring new medical devices and new surgical techniques to our region. New advances bring faster recovery, less pain, and corrective actions that previously were not available.

Recent firsts include coronary bypass performed on a beating heart without using a heart-lung machine. A cardio-thoracic surgeon becomes the first in Iowa to implant a stentless pig valve into a human heart. A first-in-the-area treatment uses short bursts of laser energy to bring relief to heart patients with debilitating chest pain. Vascular and cardio-thoracic surgeons work together to perform the area's first minimally invasive treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) shortening a patient's length of hospital stay from two to three days, compared to six days for a patient that has an invasive procedure.

Advances in Interventional Cardiology
The Institute has cardiology specialists who have advanced training in treating heart disease with catheter-based techniques. These cardiologists who have advanced training in interventional care use catheters threaded from a large artery to the heart or other arteries in the body, removing blockages and strengthening artery walls to prevent future blockages. 

Recent firsts include a penny-sized hole in the heart is sealed in patients who have been diagnosed at risk for repeat strokes - all without open-heart surgery. 

Treating Abnormal Heart Rhythms
The Institute is also home to cardiologists with advanced training in diagnosing and treating abnormal rhythms caused by malfunctions in the electrical system of the heart. These specialists use radio frequencies and special medications to treat patients. They also implant medical devices known as pacemakers and defibrillators.

Recent firsts include a patient receiving a defibrillator implant immediately after Food and Drug Administration approval for the device is announced. First-of-a-kind pacing procedure presented to other specialists at an international medical congress in France.