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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    Tips for Avoiding the Agony of Kidney Stones
    Grace Weatherby
    / Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

    Tips for Avoiding the Agony of Kidney Stones

    If you have ever had a kidney stone, you do not need much encouragement to look for ways to avoid having another one. But for the inexperienced, it’s hard to convey the magnitude of pain that tiny—we’re talking grain of sand-sized—accumulations of minerals and salts that form in the kidney can cause. But perhaps learning that the frequency of kidney stones is on the rise (and the related potential costs) may prove motivating. Here’s what we know:

    - The annual incidence of kidney stone disease rose 16% from 1997 to 2012

    - In the U.S., around 11% of men and 6% of women have had at least one kidney stone

    - About 3% of people who go to the emergency room with kidney stones need to be admitted due to pain and dehydration   

    - People admitted for kidney stone-related issues via the emergency department face an average cost of nearly $30,000, depending on the type of procedure and the subsequent care

    While there is no guaranteed way to prevent stones from forming (heredity does play a role), you can reduce your risk by modifying your diet. Here’s where to start:

    Stay hydrated. Stone formation has been directly associated with a lack of fluid intake and is by far one of the most common causes of kidney stone formation. Low fluid intake results in urine with of minerals (specifically calcium, oxalate, and other salts) that contribute to the formation of kidney stones. Drinking fluids creates a more diluted urine, which makes it less likely these minerals will clump together to form stones.

    Aim for a fluid intake of 8 to 12 cups of water a day, more if you are sweating. If possible, add a splash of lemon or lime to your water. Both juices contain citrate, which binds to calcium to help block stone formation.

    Limit sodium intake. A high-sodium diet increases the amount of calcium in your urine and may boost your risk of developing stones. Aim to limit intake to no more than 2,300 milligrams a day—roughly a tablespoon. When shopping, opt for low-sodium deli meats and prepared food options. For more tips on going low sodium, click here.

    Eat an adequate amount of calcium-rich foods.  While this may sound counterintuitive given some kidney stones are partially composed of calcium, the reality is calcium from food does not increase stones. However, some studies have shown that calcium supplements may increase stone formation. If you have a history of forming calcium oxalate stones, ask your doctor/dietitian for help determining the appropriate daily calcium intake levels for you.

    Limit the amount of meat in your diet. Meats and other animal protein, like eggs and fish, contain purines that can contribute to stone formation. Limit animal protein intake to 8 ounces a day.

    Eat your fruits and veggies. Because many fruits and vegetables contain citrate, which can inhibit the formation of calcium-based stones, you want to make sure they are a key part of your daily diet.

    A bonus of an anti-kidney stone diet is that it also works to improve your overall health and is easy to incorporate into your daily routine.

    There are different types of kidney stones and management depends on your risk factors. The best assessment for why you are making kidney stones—and determining how best to prevent them—is a 24-hour urine collection.

    Passing a kidney stone can be excruciatingly painful and long—some take weeks to pass. In some cases, kidney stones can lead to complications, like kidney infections, urinary tract infections, and sepsis.

    Your best bet for avoiding that misery and potential complications is to start doing what you can today to prevent stones tomorrow.

     

    Ruth Rudnick, RN,BSN,CNN is the director of renal services at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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