Expert Care Close to Your Heart

Whether you need long-term care to treat ongoing heart issues or you’re coming in for an emergency, at CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute, your heart health is our highest priority. The result is comprehensive care using advanced technology and evidence-based medicine. You’ll find the highest-quality care for issues ranging from high blood pressure to arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation (AFib), from heart valve disease, to heart failure. In every case we put your health goals first. With locations across Arkansas, you will be able to find a heart specialist or clinic close to you.

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Heart Disease Tests and Diagnosis

Your cardiologist may conduct a variety of cardiac tests to gather important information about your heart and circulation. We treat all types of heart disease from serious heart attacks to chronic heart conditions, such as atrial fibrillation (AFib) to heart failure and valve replacement.

Your doctor may recommend a cardiac catheterization for various reasons. The most common reason is to evaluate chest pain.Cardiac catheterization can show whether plaque is narrowing or blocking your coronary arteries.
A cardiac CT scan is a painless imaging test that uses x rays to take many detailed pictures of your heart and its blood vessels. Computers can combine these pictures to create a three-dimensional (3D) model of the whole heart. This imaging test can help doctors detect or evaluate coronary heart disease, calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, problems with the aorta, problems with heart function and valves, and pericardial disease.
An echocardiogram takes sound wave pictures of your heart to find problems with your heart valves and measure the strength of your heart muscle. 
A Holter monitor is a battery-operated portable device that measures and tape records your heart's activity (ECG) continuously for 24 to 48 hours or longer depending on the type of monitoring used. The device is the size of a small camera. It has wires with silver dollar-sized electrodes that attach to your skin.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is the narrowing of the arteries to the legs, stomach, arms and head. PAD (also called PVD, or peripheral vascular disease) is most common in the arteries in the pelvis and legs. Learn more>>
Stress tests evaluate how well your blood is flowing to your heart.  

Heart Disease Treatments and Procedures

If you are diagnosed with a heart disease, our heart doctors will develop a treatment plan for you that may include medication, lifestyle changes or surgery. We will share that treatment plan with your primary care provider so that all the doctors you see will know what care you are getting. With locations across Arkansas, you will be you will be able to find a heart specialist or clinic close to you.

Catheter ablation is an minimally-invasive procedure used to remove or terminate a faulty electrical pathway from sections of the hearts of those who are prone to developing cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AFib), atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardias (SVT) and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
We offer our heart patients cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation to help them get back on their feet after a heart attack or a heart procedure.
Angioplasty opens blocked arteries and restores normal blood flow to your heart muscle. It is not major surgery. It is done by threading a catheter (thin tube) through a small puncture in a leg or arm artery to the heart. The blocked artery is opened by inflating a tiny balloon in it.

Atherectomy involves techniques similar to those used for angioplasty. The difference is that atherectomy uses special tools to remove the plaque buildup from the artery wall.

A stent is a tiny wire mesh tube. It props open an artery and is left there permanently. 
Lipid management is an important part of treating heart disease. A lipid is a fatty substance that can't dissolve in blood. Cholesterol, cholesterol compounds and triglycerides are all lipids. They are transported in the blood as part of large molecules called lipoproteins. Abnormalities in lipids can contribute to heart disease.
If you have Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) or heart arrhythmias, a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) can help by continuously monitoring your heart's electrical system and providing automatic correction when an arrhythmia starts to occur.

Our heart specialists use advanced procedures to treate patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defect (ASD).

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a less invasive option that we offer for patients with severe heart valve disease who are high-risk or too sick for open heart surgery. 
VADs, which are used as bridges to transplants for people with advanced heart failure, are machines that help a weakened heart pump blood throughout the body, most often giving lifesaving support to patients unable to wait for a donor heart to become available.
If you have Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) and are unable to tolerate blood thinners like warfarin, the WATCHMAN device provides an alternative for preventing strokes.
We have counseling and programs available to help you maintain a healthy weight. One program we offer is Ideal Protein. 

Ideal Protein is a medically developed weight loss and weight management program that encompasses weight loss and education about living a healthier lifestyle. It’s a structured approach that offers the support and guidance needed to help you set, achieve and maintain your weight loss goals.

Call 501.255.6087 to reach a coach.

The program includes:

  • One-on-one coaching
  • A personalized approach to setting weight loss goals – based on your individual health profile
  • Nutrition education and understanding of how your body gains and loses weight
  • Support from the Ideal Protein community and online tools to maximize success
  • Easy-to-prepare, affordable foods and recipes
  • Coaching and guidance to help you keep the weight off

We offer an open house, including product tasting and more: Every other week at CHI St. Vincent Heart Clinic – Kanis.