Services at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center

Minimally Invasive Treatment for Afib
Afib is an irregular heart rhythm that interferes with the heart’s ability to pump blood and can even result in a stroke. An innovative procedure called Mini-Maze offers new hope to Afib patients for whom no reasonable cure now exists.

In the Mini-Maze procedure, a thoracoscope is inserted through a tiny incision, destroying a small amount of tissue where the irregular signal starts. The damaged tissue can no longer conduct electrical impulses, interrupting the transmission of the abnormal signal and allowing the rest of the chamber to resume beating normally.

Mitral Valve Repair
In addition, expert cardiac surgeons also are performing minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgeries, which utilize a smaller operating window, resulting in decreased scar size, less pain and shorter recovery time.

For more information about the latest surgical treatments, contact the Cardiovascular Program Director at 281.526.6125.

• 45% of heart attacks occur in people under the age of 65.
• Males account for 47% of all deaths from cardiovascular disease.
• Heart disease is often under-diagnosed and under-treated in women.

High-Tech Cardiovascular Operating Areas
The three operating rooms in the Heart & Vascular Hospital feature technology unavailable elsewhere in the south Houston region. Overhead mounting systems, lighting, operating room tables, endoscopic equipment, cameras, image capture systems and information networks are integrated into one electronic system under the control of the surgical team.

X-ray images and live ultrasound transesophageal echoes can be shown on any monitor. Digital video and audio equipment records procedures to a cardiovascular digital archival system that allows for intraoperative viewing of studies.

We are proud that the number of bypass surgeries performed off-pump is 80 percent or greater. During off-pump surgery, the surgeon operates on a beating heart; a bypass machine is not necessary. An in-house perfusion team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week – enhancing our ability to achieve quality outcomes.

Our vascular operating room is a hybrid of a surgical suite and endovascular room, with a $1 million state-of-the-art vascular imaging system. Digital images can be captured, archived and instantly transmitted to another location via our digital cardiovascular imaging system.

Cardiovascular OR staff is available around the clock, providing support for the Emergency Department for any cardiovascular-related emergencies, such as limb salvage for ischemia or aortic dissection.

State-of-the-Art Catheterization labs
The latest technologies in our four state-of-the-art catheterization labs give our cardiologists the ability to provide high-quality interventional care. These cardiac and peripheral diagnostics and interventions are enhanced by our digital X-ray and archival web-based imaging systems.

This technology also makes it possible to view even hard-to-see blood vessels with exceptional clarity. Devices such as stents, guidewires and catheters can be clearly visualized during studies and procedures.

In our specialized electrophysiology (EP) lab, intercardiac ultrasound and 3-D mapping enable precise imaging diagnostics for all EP procedures.

The Catheterization Lab staff is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and works with Emergency Department staff to coordinate quick door-to-intervention times. The ED staff, who can receive 12=lead EKGs from Emergency medical Services (EMS) providers while they are transporting patients to the hospital, alerts the heart attack team of the patient’s impending arrival, thus saving precious minutes that can make a difference.

Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) and Echo Services
The EKG/Echo Department uses the latest in diagnostic technology. An electrocardiogram – known as EKG or ECG – is a test that measure the electrical activity of the heartbeat. With each beat, an electrical impulse, or “wave,” travels through the heart. This wave causes the muscle to squeeze and pump blood from the heart. Echocardiography or echo is an ultrasound test that uses sound waves to examine the heart’s structure and motion. During this safe, painless test, the patient lies still while a technician moves a device over the chest. It gives off a silent sound wave that bounces off the heart, creating images of its chambers and valves. The echo can tell the doctor how thick the heart muscle is and how well the heart pumps.

Our EKG/Echo services include:

• Digital Echocardiogram Image Archival
• Transthoracic Echoes – Transesophageal Echoes
• Three state-of-the-art Stress Labs
• Tilt Table Testing
• Holter Monitoring

Clear Lake Regional Medical Center is Accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories.

Cardiac Imaging Capabilities
Coronary CTA : Among the latest in cardiac imaging technology, our 64-channel, multi-slice CT scanning equipment provides high-speed imaging with high-resolution quality in a matter of seconds.

This cutting edge CT scanner delivers 64 simultaneous slices of .5 mm, the thinnest available in one rotation. The result is precise isotropic data sets that give a cardiac radiologist detailed images of the coronary arties and vascular system in a matter of seconds with the assistance of an IV injection of contrast material.

This non-invasive procedure provides an impressive diagnostic tool with low-dose exposure and increased user-friendliness for patients, allowing for a significant evaluation of the coronary arteries.

Exceeding the Standard in Patient Care
Private, inpatient rooms offer a quiet, peaceful environment for heart patients and their familes. Rooms are equipped with in-room charting capabilities, allowing nurses to enter data or view a patient’s chart by the bedside. The need for nurses to move between the nursing station and their patients is significantly reduced.

An ePOM system for computerized physician order entry improves patient safety, reduces medical errors, provides easy access to drug interaction information, reduces order verification call-backs, provides allergy alerts and improvise test turnaround times.

Patient safety also is optimizes through an eMAR and Barcoding system that incorporates the use of bar codes in medications and the patient armband. This online medication administration record allows nurses to verify correct patient and medication information prior to administering the medication.

Large recliners and flat-screen televisions also make the private patient rooms more comfortable for patients and family members.

• Chest discomfort – most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back; it can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body – symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. 
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness   

Note: As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. ~American Heart Association

If any of these symptoms occur, call 9-1-1. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers can transmit 12-lead EKGs to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center's Emergency Room, alerting the heart attack team of the patient's impending arrival.
Catheterization labs are on stand-by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide Interventional Cardiology Care, associated Surgical Procedures, and a broad range of Diagnostic Services.   Our Chest Pain Center is the 2nd Chest Pain Center in Texas and the 4th in the nation to be accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers and Providers, insuring it meets or exceeds quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.