Interventional cardiologists in East TX
At the UT Health East Texas Heart and Vascular Institute, we offer patients the most comprehensive interventional cardiology services in East Texas. We provide our community access to board-certified cardiologists and advanced technology designed to treat various cardiac conditions, including heart attack, heart valve disorders, and arrhythmia. We also offer a wide range of heart screening and imaging tests to ensure you receive an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan tailored to your particular cardiovascular needs. Our interventional cardiologists pair state-of-the-art technology with compassionate care to bring you the expert cardiac care you deserve.
Our interventional cardiology treatments
In the field of interventional cardiology, UT Health East Texas offers many treatment options, including:
- Angioplasty
- Atrial septal defect (ASD) closure
- Coronary atherectomy – Diamondback 360
- Intra-aortic balloon pump
- Impella heart pump
- Laser atherectomy
- Patent foramen ovale (PFO)
- Peripheral atherectomy – SilverHawk
- Stents
The UT Health East Texas Cardiovascular Institute stands ready to provide you with the most advanced heart care, close to home. Talk with your physician for more information.
Heart screening services
The interventional cardiologists identify and aggressively treat the risk factors known to promote the development of heart attacks and strokes. In the area of diagnosis, we offer a sophisticated noninvasive imaging program, including 3D echocardiography, electrocardiography, vascular ultrasound and nuclear imaging tests.
Our cardiac tests include:
- Calcium scoring — This computerized tomography (CT) scan is used to identify calcified plaque in the coronary arteries and determine your risk of heart attack.
- Echocardiography — This procedure uses ultrasound waves to show the function of your heart valves and chambers, and how blood flows through them.
- Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG) — During an ECG, the electrical activity of your heart will be tested to diagnose arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), as well as detect evidence of past heart attacks or congenital abnormalities.
- Nuclear stress testing — This test uses a form of nuclear medicine to measure blood flow to your heart while you’re at rest and again while you increase your physical activity, either through exercise or medication.
- Stress echocardiography — This test measures how well your heart pumps blood while you’re at rest and during exercise/strenuous activity.
- Vascular ultrasound: This test uses sound waves to evaluate your body’s circulatory system and view the blood flow of arteries, capillaries, and veins.
Please call us to learn more about our heart screening services.
ECMO treatment
UT Health Tyler is proud to have been the first hospital in East Texas to offer cardiovascular critical care. Our dedicated team of fellowship-trained intensivists and advanced practice providers offer 24/7 coverage ensuring patient care continually progresses throughout the day. The intensive care unit (ICU) coordinates care and works alongside cardiologists, surgeons and other specialists so patients can receive the consistent, unified care they need to get through the most complicated illnesses and surgeries. The ICU team cares for a broad range of patients including those with heart attacks, heart failure, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeries, structural heart procedures and patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the most severe forms of heart and lung failure.
UT Health East Tyler is also the first hospital in East Texas to offer ECMO to adult patients who are extremely sick due to heart and/or lung failure. “Extracorporeal” means outside of one’s body, “membrane” is a type of artificial lung and “oxygenation” is the process of getting oxygen into the blood. The ECMO machine helps to alleviate the stress on these vital organs in order for them to have a chance to rest and recover until they are able to properly function again.
Placing a patient on ECMO can be done in the operating room, catheterization lab, at the patient’s bedside or via a mobile unit wherever the patient is located. When connected to an ECMO machine, the blood flows through a tube into an artificial lung for the purpose of removing carbon dioxide and adding oxygen. Then, the blood is warmed to body temperature and pumped back into the body. Depending on the condition of the patient, they may stay on ECMO anywhere from just days to several weeks. During this time, the medical team is able to treat them with a variety of procedures, medicines or give them adequate time to recover.
ECMO patient referral guidelines
Adult ECMO has the most benefit for ages 18-65 years of age. ECMO will be used as a possible treatment for the following conditions:
- Acute or acute on chronic heart failure
- Chest trauma
- Covid-19
- Drug intoxication
- High-risk cardiac catheterization lab procedures
- Influenza
- Inhalation injury
- Low body temperature
- Pneumonia/ARDS
- Post-cardiotomy shock
- Pulmonary contusion
- Pulmonary embolism
- Ventricular assist device (VAD) procedure or similar
For ECMO referrals, please call 903-535-6267.