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Dr. John Turner VI, cardiac anesthesiologist, Dr. Steven Chapman, cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, and Delta Regional team member Lesa Trotter watch Dr. Ken Hahn, interventional cardiologist, as he demonstrates a view of the heart.

To better combat cardiovascular disease in the Mississippi Delta — home of the nation’s highest incidence per capita rate — Delta Regional Medical Center is doing its part through numerous community outreach and capital improvement projects.

“Greenville (has been dubbed) the ‘epicenter of heart disease in the United Statesm’ based on national health statistics from the Centers for Disease Control,” noted Delta Regional CEO Ray Humphreys. “With our mission to improve the health of the citizens and communities we serve, we must take the lead in addressing heart disease.”

During American Heart Month in February, Delta Regional offered several various community activities including Lunch and Learn lectures by local cardiologists, a city-wide “Wear Red Day” and “Leap for Life!” community aerobics class. The YMCA and Delta Regional partnered to promote heart healthy activities, such as a 1K Fun Walk/5K Run.

Plans to convert the former burn unit on Hospital Street into a Heart and Vascular Center are well underway in Greenville and should open this spring.

“As part of our plan to build Mississippi’s next great hospital, our Heart and Vascular Center is getting a new home, one that is larger, better equipped and family friendlier,” said Michelle Britton, administrator of the center, which will feature eight patient rooms, two cardiovascular operating suites, an angiography suite, a recovery unit, a more comfortable family waiting area, and a more efficient work area for staff.

Britton said the center will allow the staff to “begin working in a whole new way.”

“It’s an innovative concept that allows a patient to be admitted, have surgery, recover, and be discharged, while based in the same room and cared for by the same core staff,” she explained. “That’s called the ‘same stay unit’ concept, and we’re sure our patients, families, and physicians will like the new concept, which is modeled after the best hospitals in the country.”

Another improvement in heart care for Delta residents is the hospital’s addition of a new Toshiba Aquilion 64-slice CT Scanner which David Wallace, Delta Regional’s director of radiology, describes as “putting us strides ahead in diagnosing heart disease and cancer early on.”

“This diagnostics machine produces an amazing 64 images every half second, thus allowing us to now offer two very innovative diagnostics procedures,” he said. “One, automated cardiac scanning, a non-invasive and highly accurate alternative to catheterization. And two, stroke analysis which allows us to make stroke diagnoses within a critical treatment window.”

Once a person has been identified as a risk for heart disease or has suffered a heart-related illness, cardiac rehabilitation improves the quality of life of the patient and aids recovery, said Marge Clifford, RN, director of cardiology, noting that Delta Regional’s cardiac rehab is the only accredited facility of its kind located between Memphis and Jackson.

“A complete lifestyle modification including a supervised exercise program aids patients recovering from heart attack, bypass surgery, heart transplant, valve replacement, pacemaker or defibrillator implant, or congested heart failure,” she said.

The program consists of Phase I for inpatients, Phase II for outpatients, both in which the patient is constantly monitored by cardiac staff, and Phase III, a non-monitored maintenance program. Staffers include registered nurses, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists, dieticians, social workers and pharmacists. A physician referral is required to enter the cardiac rehab program.

Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP), an additional therapy offered by Delta Regional’s cardiovascular services, is especially useful for persons suffering from angina pectoris or chest pain and can reduce the symptoms by increasing blood flow to the coronary arteries of the heart.

“The patient lies on a bed wearing a series of pressure cuffs, similar to blood pressure cuffs around the calf, lower thigh, and upper thigh of the leg,” explained Clifford. “As the cuffs are inflated and deflated, the pressure increases blood flow to the heart. The sessions usually take about an hour. Many patients find they are able to read, listen to tapes, or relax during therapy.”

Typical benefits for patients may include decreased chest pain, reduced use of medication, and the ability to enjoy a more independently mobile and active lifestyle.

“Seventy-five percent of our Delta residents have risk factors for heart disease,” Dr. John Turner IV, a cardiac anesthesiologist for Delta Regional, pointed out. “We need to take care of each other and encourage each other to have annual examinations by a doctor, including complete risk assessment for heart disease.”



March 2008

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