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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    Go-To Guide: Managing Your Diet with Your Medication
    Administrator Account
    / Categories: WELLNESS, 2019

    Go-To Guide: Managing Your Diet with Your Medication

    Controlling chronic conditions often requires taking prescription drugs. In fact, 87 percent of seniors take at least one prescription drug regularly, while 35 percent take five or more.

    “Without question, medication can be great at providing relief, but they don’t exist in a vacuum,” says Robert Sherman, PharmD, the director of the Pharmacy Services at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington. “Studies have shown that certain foods—ranging from bananas to spinach—can alter or limit how some common senior medications work or can even increase negative side effects.”

    Here’s a quick look at some foods to avoid with specific medications:

    Blood Thinners

    Blood thinners like Warfarin and Coumadin work by blocking the body’s production of Vitamin K, which helps with clot formation. A diet heavy in foods rich in Vitamin K can work against blood thinners. That doesn’t mean foods with Vitamin K should be avoided. They should just be consumed in moderation (2 – 3 times per week) and on a predictable schedule. If you take blood thinners, go easy on:  kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, scallions, asparagus, and endive.

    Heart Medication

    ACE Inhibitors are great for keeping blood moving smoothly to and from your heart, but they can raise potassium levels in your body. And too much potassium can lead to trouble for your heart in the form of palpitations and irregular heartbeat. If you take blood thinners, you want to avoid consuming potassium-rich foods such as bananas and oranges.  Also, avoid salt substitutes that contain potassium.

    Cholesterol Medication

    Statins work by preventing the production of cholesterol by the liver. Unfortunately, some statins don’t work when the patient also consumes grapefruit or grapefruit juice.  This is because grapefruit can affect how quickly your liver does or doesn’t process the drug. It’s important to note that not all statins are impacted the same way. Talk to your doctor about the specific medication you’re on before swearing off all grapefruit altogether.

    More on Grapefruit…

    Research shows that grapefruit interacts with more than just cholesterol medication. If you take any of the following, avoid eating grapefruit and speak with your healthcare provider about substitute medications or other options:

    • anti-anxiety medication
    • antihistamines
    • blood pressure medication
    • some cancer drugs
    • cough suppressants
    • stomach acid medication
    • thyroid medication

    Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medications and Supplements

    Sherman notes that, “Because they’re so easy to obtain, it’s easy to overlook how over-the-counter medications or supplements can interfere or impact the effectiveness of prescription medications. But the truth it both OTCs and supplements can change how the body absorbs, metabolizes or excretes medication and affect how potent it is in your system.” If you take an OTC or supplement, be sure to read the label before purchasing or taking to learn of potential interactions with prescription medications.

    Balancing Risks and Rewards

    “Taking medication as prescribed can make a meaningful difference in your health and wellbeing,” says Sherman. “To be sure to you get the full benefit of what you’re taking, you want to tell both your doctor and pharmacist about all medications—prescription or otherwise—that you’re taking so that so they can alert you to any drug-drug or drug-food issues.”

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    Tags: medication diet interactions pharmacist

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