SVMC cardiology

 

 

STRIVING TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE ONE BEAT AT A TIME

You get one life and you get one heart. The board-certified cardiologists and associated practitioners at SVMC Cardiology are committed to helping you make the most of both.

Our patient-centered approach to care and personalized care plans maximize your quality of life while delivering the treatment you need when you need it.

Creating the appropriate treatment plan for your condition begins with a cardiac consultation. Your consultation is a chance for you to share your health history and current concerns with your cardiologist. All necessary exams and tests are conducted on-site by your cardiac care team. The results are shared and discussed directly with you so that you fully understand your condition, treatment options, associated risks, and potential lifestyle changes.

After a heart episode or surgery, there’s nothing our cardiac team and you want more than for you to just get back on your feet and live the life you want. That’s why we begin your rehabilitation program before you even leave the hospital. Through a combination of education and exercise, your personalized program will help you build strength and reduce your risk factors. Using the full range of cardio equipment in our Cardiac Rehab Center and under the watchful eye of our rehab team, you’ll improve your heart’s strength and capacity and get closer to resuming a full and active lifestyle. For more information about Cardiac Rehabilitation, click here.

In order to understand how well your heart is or isn’t functioning, an echocardiogram may be performed. This non-invasive procedure uses sound waves to produce images of your heart. Both of SVMC’s cardiologists are board certified in echocardiography and able to observe how your heart is pumping and identify any abnormalities in the heart muscle or valves. An echocardiogram allows our team to make the most informed and appropriate recommendations for the next steps in your care.

If a standard echocardiogram does not provide a clear image of your heart, your SVMC care team may recommend a transesophageal echocardiogram or TEE. Performed at the hospital, this procedure involves inserting a flexible tube containing a transducer down your throat and into your esophagus. From this closer vantage point, the transducer then uses sound waves to create more detailed images of your heart and allows for better diagnosis.

Before we treat your heart, we need understand how it’s performing. At SVMC we offer a number of non-invasive stress tests that can quickly and easily reveal a number of things including: how well your heart works during increasing levels of activity; how certain medications are impacting blood flow; the effectiveness of procedures done to improve heart performance; and more.

If you have risk factors for heart disease, calcium scoring may may help you learn more about whether you are actually at risk. The non-invasive test uses high-speed CT imaging technology to measure the hardening of the heart’s arteries, a leading indicator of heart disease and heart attacks. Visit the calcium scoring page for complete details. 

A pacemaker is one of the most effective ways to ensure a heart maintains a steady, healthy beat. The SVMC cardiac team is exceptionally skilled and experienced at both pacemaker implantation and monitoring. Considered a minor surgery, implantation takes place at the hospital with most patients returning to normal activity (and a more steadily beating heart) within a few days. Like all medical equipment, pacemakers need a little TLC every now and then. At SVMC our cardiac team can perform routine monitoring, both remotely and in the office, and reprogramming as needed.

One of the most common cardiac diagnostic tools, an EKG is a painless way to check for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. The EKG translates and records your heart’s electrical activity over a period of time and translates it into waves. Your SVMC care provider can use printouts of the waves to detect any patterns that might point to a specific condition and put together a treatment plan that meets your specific needs.

Should your SVMC cardiac care provider want to monitor your heart over a longer period of time than is practical for a standard EKG, you may be given a Holter or event monitor. Worn outside the body and completely painless, monitors are helpful in detecting abnormalities that only happen occasionally and can help your doctor link any abnormalities to specific activities or events in your day.

Carotid ultrasound
At SVMC our goal is to treat your health issues before they become problems. Using our sophisticated carotid ultrasound test, your cardiac care provider can detect blockages in your neck arteries that could lead to a stroke or indicate problems in other parts or your circulatory system.

Education
Because understanding what causes heart problems is essential to resolving them, we offer a variety of educational resources to patients and their families.  Workshops are offered on an ongoing basis throughout the Dartmouth-Hitchcock network, and condition-specific literature is available in our offices. 

SVMC Cardiac Rehab

SVMC Pulmonology

American Heart Association 

Go Red for Women 

American College of Cardiology 

140 Hospital Drive, Suite 211, Bennington, VT 05201
Phone: (802) 442-0800
Fax: (833) 343-1597

Hours:
Monday – Friday:  8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Directions: 
For directions to SVMC Cardiology, click here. 

Parking:
For appointments at SVMC Cardiology, park in parking area P3 or P5.

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    5 Tips for Keeping Your Health & Vacation Plans on Track
    Grace Weatherby
    / Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

    5 Tips for Keeping Your Health & Vacation Plans on Track

    As we are all aware, we are in a new era of travel thanks to a highly transmissible virus—COVID—that is not seasonal and is still very much in circulation. Along with plenty of other viruses and food-, water- and insect borne diseases out there that can throw a wrench in your plans. 

    That’s not to say you should stay home, but, you do have to acknowledge that you’re taking a calculated risk when traveling. Take note of the following precautions to minimize the risk of getting sick.

    Wear a mask

    If you take public transportation to and from a destination, you are likely to end up spending long periods of time in crowded or poorly ventilated areas, increasing chance for exposure to any number of viruses. A good quality, well-fitted mask or respirator is recommended for anyone two years of age or older when in transportation hubs and on planes, trains, buses, and other closed conveyances.While many planes provide excellent air filtration and circulation, there is no guarantee those systems will be on while you are on the ground prior to or after take-off. Wearing a mask is a small inconvenience compared to spending your whole vacation sick in bed.

    Be aware that regulations regarding the wearing of masks vary dramatically from country to country. Be sure to follow any requirements and recommendations of the authorities where you are traveling, including those of operators of public transportation or transportation hubs, and pack the necessary mask accordingly.

    Be current on vaccines

    It goes without saying that you should be up to date on your COVID vaccine. The current vaccine specifically targets the currently circulating strains and offers long-lasting protection. In addition, a flu vaccine as well as a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine is recommended for adults aged 60 and over. All of these vaccines are readily available at most pharmacies and may even be covered by your insurance.

    In addition, if you are traveling abroad, be sure to find out what vaccines are required to enter your destination. As some shots must be administered in a series over the course of a few weeks, it is important to get them scheduled properly. To ensure you are truly ready to go on your planned departure date, contact a travel clinic.

    SVMC offers two travel clinics: one through the department of Infectious Disease and another through SVMC’s Occupational Health office. While some tour operators may not consider certain vaccines necessary, a pre-consult will make you aware of the availability of vaccines and the potential outcomes if you choose to skip them. Ultimately, how well you are—or are not—protected is up to you but, as with all decisions, the best decisions are informed ones.

    Be proactively protective. If COVID taught us nothing else, it was how important sanitization can be. Be sure to carry hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol with you and use it frequently.

    Eat and drink wisely. If you are traveling to an area where the safety of water or food is questionable, make smart choices. When possible, opt for sealed beverages including water, soda, and juices. To be extra cautious, choose carbonated beverages as the presence of bubbles indicate that the bottle or can has been properly sealed. And because ice is typically made from tap water, you’re going to want to pass on chilling down your beverages. This includes skipping ‘the rocks’ in your cocktails, as the alcohol content may not be high enough to kill the bacteria in the ice.

    On the food front, remember that high heat kills dangerous germs, so food that is cooked thoroughly and served hot is usually safe. If possible, you should avoid consuming raw foods. If enjoying raw fruits or vegetables, when possible, peel them yourself or wash them with bottled water as not all tap water maybe safe to consume. 

    Keep bugs at bay. Mosquito- and/or tick-borne diseases exist all over the world. Protect yourself by treating your clothing and backpack with the insecticide permethrin. Available in liquid, powders, and sprays, use it to treat your clothing, backpack, and gear. Permethrin should NOT be applied directly to your skin. Permethrin-treated fabrics should effectively repel insects for 40 days or five washings. Be sure to follow the package instructions carefully to get the full benefit of the repellent.

    One last tip, if you are traveling abroad, consider enrolling in the Smart Travel Enrollment Program (STEP). A free service available to U.S. citizen and nationals traveling and living abroad, STEP connects you to the U.S. consulate or embassy closest to your destination(s). When you enroll, you will receive important safety information related to your destination. Enrollment also enables the U.S. Embassy to reach you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.

     

    Dr. Marie George, MD is an Infectious Disease Specialist in Southwestern Vermont Healthcare in Bennington, VT

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