Why Choose CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute?
Access
At CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute, you have access to the state’s largest and most diverse network of heart specialists. And we are close to home with services in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Hot Springs, Searcy and Conway and more than 25 community locations.
It’s All About You
We are leading the way in heart care, shifting the focus from procedure to program, from individual doctor to a team of specialists and primary care, from disease to whole-person wellness. Our team includes CHI St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas (the state's largest cardiology group) as well as heart surgeons in Little Rock and Hot Springs. From aggressive diagnostic routines to the latest surgical procedures to heart health education, we offer comprehensive care close to home.
Learn about our care for heart disease. Hear our patient stories.
Latest Treatments and Technology for Heart Disease
We use the latest treatments for all forms of heart disease -- from common problems to rare or life-threatening conditions. Whether you've been referred for diagnostic testing, cardiac treatment or disease management, your best interests are at the heart of every medical recommendation we make and care option we provide.
With access to 10 cath lab procedure rooms, 6 CV operating rooms, 40 dedicated cardiology critical care beds and over 60 telemetry beds the CHI St Vincent Heart Institute has the resources to care for a variety of patients. Our support team includes advanced practice providers, perfusionists, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, physical therapists, social workers, and dietitians. With this breadth of specialties we our patients get comprehensive care tailored their individual health concerns and wellbeing. Our group of more than 50 heart specialits bring the diversity necessary to treat each patient's specific condition.
ACE Accredited Cardiac Cath Labs
The cardiac cath labs at CHI St Vincent Infirmary and CHI St Vincent North are the first 2 ACE accredited cath labs in the state of Arkansas, with the cath lab at the Infirmary also holding chest pain accreditation. We see a multitude of procedures including
- Cardiac catheterization (cardiac cath or heart cath) is a procedure to examine how well your heart is working.
- Stenting - a procedure used to open clogged heart arteries
- CTO - minimally invasive technique used to treat patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO), or complete blockages, of the coronary arteries.
- EP studies and ablations - used to treat heart arrhythmia
We bring together the state’s largest group of cardiologists with cardiothoracic surgeons and critical care intensivists to provide comprehensive care to our patients.
Hot Springs Heart Center provides comprehensive services and the latest technology in one convenient location. CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
CHI St. Vincent Infirmary has been ranked since 2012 by U.S. News & World Report as a top regional hospital by achieving high performing status for heart-related categories. We are one of two Arkansas hospitals, and fewer than 20 in the United States to receive Ace Accreditation for Cardiac Excellence for our cath labs. We do more than 3,000 catheterizations a year. Our Jack Stephens Heart Unit offers exceptional service and amenities.
CHI St. Vincent has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. The CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock earned the award for meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for quick, appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility.
CHI St. Vincent North hospital’s heart services include a STEMI program that provides life-saving treatment for patients experiencing a heart attack.
CHI St. Vincent Morrilton also has advanced emergency capabilities to diagnosis heart problems.
Our partners also include with Conway Regional Medical Center and Unity Health – White County Medical Center where our cardiologists take care of patients close to home.
Accreditations for Excellence in Heart Care
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Awards
CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute’s Dr. Thomas Rayburn and Lynn Bass Awarded for Contributions to Heart Research
CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute’s Dr. Thomas Rayburn III, MD, and Clinical Research Coordinator Lynn Bass, RN, have received awards for their contributions to the PROACT Xa clinical trial and high-priority heart care research. The Heart Institute is working with the cardiac and vascular surgery company CryoLife, Inc. on a trial to answer vital clinical questions in the care of heart patients who receive mechanical heart valves.
“Our role in this important research is indicative of CHI St. Vincent’s healing ministry and commitment to delivering the most advanced, compassionate care to our communities across Arkansas which suffer from a high prevalence of cardiac disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes,” said Dr. Rayburn.
CHI St. Vincent was the first participating research partner to enroll a patient in the randomized, clinical trial which will include approximately 1,000 patients across the U.S. and Canada. The research is part of a Linked Clinical Research Centers seven-year initiative through the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), part of the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute announced in August 2019 that it would partner with Penn Medicine as one of five qualified institutions nationwide to participate in the research program in order to accelerate high-priority clinical research efforts related to heart surgery and implement novel approaches into surgical practice.