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 Preventing Chronic Kidney Disease
    Grace Weatherby
    / Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

    Tips for Preventing Chronic Kidney Disease

    Much like your heart, your kidneys never get a break. In fact, your kidneys work 24/7 filtering every ounce of your blood up to 25 times a day. That’s a lot of work for two tiny bean-sized organs.

    The process of filtering your blood works to maintain your overall health by regulating your body’s salt, potassium, and acid content. In addition, your kidneys play a crucial role in fluid balance, releasing hormones to regulate blood pressure, removing drugs from the body, controlling the production of red blood cells, and producing vitamin D to promote strong bones.

    Unfortunately, kidneys aren’t foolproof.

    An estimated 37 million Americans have chronic kidney diseases (CKD), a result of the kidneys losing their ability to function properly. CKD can progress quickly or may take many years to develop. In the earliest stages the symptoms are very mild; so mild in fact that 90% of people with CKD don’t know it until it is progressed to advanced stage. CKD’s ability to sneak up on someone has rightfully earned it a reputation as a ‘silent killer.’ The only way to diagnose and catch CKD early is through regular annual exams with your primary care doctor including standard bloodwork that can reveal if your kidneys are functioning properly or not.

    Without regular bloodwork, your kidney function may continue to decline undetected to the point of failure, at which point dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed to stay alive. 

    The National Kidney Foundation estimates 1 in 3 U.S. adults in the U.S. is at risk for kidney disease. 

    Certain risk factors that contribute to CKD include:

    • Diabetes
    • High blood pressure
    • Heart disease
    • Family history of kidney failure
    • Being age 60 or older
    • Obesity
    • Past damage to kidneys
    • Being in minority populations that have high rates of diabetes or high blood pressure (Black/African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, and American Indians or Alaska Natives)

    But having any of these risk factors isn’t a guarantee you’ll develop CKD. This is especially true if you take steps to protect your kidneys by preventing or managing health conditions and risk factors.

    Among the most important steps you can take are:

    Manage any chronic conditions.

    If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease, stay on top of your condition and take all medications as prescribed. If you’re struggling to keep your condition in check, talk to your doctor about support or education programs.

    Eat a healthy diet.

    Choose foods that are healthy for your heart and your entire body. This includes fresh fruits, fresh or frozen vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Whenever possible, opt for low-salt and low-sugar options. If you need help changing your eating habits, the DASH eating plan is a good place to start.

    If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease, contact your healthcare provider to discuss working with a nutritionist to create a meal plan that meets your needs.

    Get plenty of sleep.

    Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. For tips on getting a better night’s sleep, click here.

    Stop smoking.

    If you smoke or use other tobacco products, stop. Click here to learn more about support groups and programs, as well as medications, that may help you quit smoking.

    Do you know your risk?
    To learn if you are one of the 33% of adults in the U.S. who is at risk for kidney disease.

     

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

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