Heart Care at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center
Nationally recognized, comprehensive cardiovascular care. Our expert heart doctors and surgeons work together to determine the best treatment plan for you.
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Complete Care is at the Heart of What We Do
Recognized heart care
- Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification
- Wellstar Kennestone is one of less than 30 hospitals nationwide with this highest level of certification under The Joint Commission and American Heart Association standards.
- Level I Emergency Cardiac Care Center
- Largest ECCC network in Georgia
- Three stars (highest possible rating) in four categories evaluated by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS): isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG, or open-heart surgery), aortic valve replacement (AVR), AVR + CABG, and multiprocedural cardiothoracic surgeries
- Earning 3 stars in two categories alone places Wellstar Kennestone in the top 4-7 percent of hospitals in North America.
- Joint Commission's "Gold Seal Certification" for coronary artery bypass, heart valve repair and replacement and heart failure
- Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center was ranked #6 by U.S. News and World Report for Best Hospitals for Cardiology & Heart Surgery in Georgia
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Cardiac Distinction Recognition Award for Cardiac Excellence
- Aetna "Institute for Quality Cardiac Medical Intervention Hospitals" due to high achievement in cardiac surgery quality indicators as defined by the National Quality Forum
- Joint Commission certification for CAB and Valve Replacement and Repairs programs
- American Heart Association—Mission: Lifeline®—STEMI Receiving Center—GOLD
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association Center of Excellence
- Get With the Guidelines Heart Failure Gold Plus, Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll, Target Heart Failure Honor Roll
- Get With the Guidelines Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI Gold with Target Type 2 Diabetes
- Get With the Guidelines Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Receiving Bronze
- Get With the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll
Our care team
Our team of experts collaborates to ensure all your heart care needs are covered. The multidisciplinary team includes specialists in: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Electrophysiology, General Cardiology, Heart Failure, Interventional Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiology, Pharmacists, Imaging Specialists, Nurses and more.
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Our Services
- Aortic Program
- Behavioral Medicine
- Cardiac Diagnostics
- Cardio-Oncology
- Cardiac Rehab
- Cardiac Surgery
- General Cardiology
- Heart Failure
- Heart Rhythm Disorders
- HCM
- Interventional Cardiology
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Structural Heart and Valve
Comprehensive Aortic Program
In Wellstar’s Comprehensive Aortic Program, highly-trained specialists care for people with aortic diseases. We ensure seamless collaboration while providing many treatment options, including minimally-invasive surgery.Learn more about Wellstar's Comprehensive Aortic Program.
Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine
Our cardiovascular behavioral medicine team empowers people with heart conditions to achieve their health goals, manage emotions related to their condition and help avoid rehospitalization. Sometimes low mood, panic, overwhelming emotions, difficulties with problem-solving or memory, frustration with making change, and chronic fatigue get in the way of progress. Our heart-focused behavioral health team members use scientifically-supported approaches to help people overcome these barriers. If you have a cardiac condition, have made a good-faith effort at change and are still struggling to achieve health goal success, a referral to one of our clinicians could help.We offer in-person and virtual appointments depending on your preference and clinical needs.
Learn more about cardiovascular behavioral health at Wellstar.
Cardiac Diagnostics
Heart care experts at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center collaborate in a multidisciplinary fashion to diagnose heart conditions. While some tests may be performed in your doctor’s office, you may be referred for more advanced imaging.Our cardiac imaging and diagnostics team helps your team of heart care specialists understand what is causing symptoms. We use advanced technology to make and analyze sophisticated images of the heart.
To provide you with the most accurate diagnosis, your doctor may refer you to a specialized cardiac diagnostic center for these types of imaging and tests:
- Electrocardiogram (EKG)
- Echocardiogram
- Stress tests
- Cardiac CT
- Cardiac PET Scans
- Cardiac ultrasound
- Catheterization
- Cardiac MRI
- Calcium Scoring and Heart Screenings—Know Your Heart Class
- Nuclear cardiology
Cardio-Oncology
Recent research has found a connection between cancer and cardiovascular health, leading to the creation of cardio-oncology. Wellstar’s cardio-oncology experts work as part of a multidisciplinary team with a patient's cancer experts.We evaluate and treat people for heart conditions before, during or after cancer treatments to optimize their health, including people who:
- Are at a high risk of heart disease
- Have heart failure or another existing heart condition
- Experience a heart attack or have other cardiovascular complications after cancer treatment
Men with prostate cancer, women with breast cancer and people who have radiation therapy in the chest tend to be most affected by heart conditions.
Cardiac Rehab
Wellstar cardiac rehabilitation includes a thorough evaluation, then a plan of monitored exercise, lifestyle education and emotional support designed just for you. Exercise improves cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength through low-impact activities and resistance training. Lifestyle education empowers you to break bad habits, like smoking and overeating, and adopt healthy habits, like exercise and proper nutrition. Emotional support helps you manage stress and learn to cope with heart disease.
Wellstar providers emphasize a prompt, seamless transition from an incident or hospitalization to rehabilitation. Patients who are hospitalized for a cardiac-related illness will meet with a Wellstar cardiac rehabilitation educator while in the hospital to be introduced to the program. Following release from the hospital, patients will begin a regular program of monitored exercise and lifestyle education as soon as medically appropriate as determined by their physician.
Cardiac Surgery
A collaborative, comprehensive program focused on evaluating and treating patients with advanced and complex structural heart problems, including valvular heart disease.
Procedures include traditional valve surgery and minimally invasive options such as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair (TMVR) and WATCHMAN, a proven alternative to long term Warfarin therapy for stroke risk reduction in patients with nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation (AF).
General Cardiology
Our nationally recognized cardiovascular team works closely with heart and vascular surgeons and specialists to provide comprehensive, coordinated heart care at medical offices and hospitals throughout the state of Georgia. Our goal is to help you understand what to expect and how to achieve your best heart health.
Learn more about general cardiology at Wellstar.
Heart Failure
Heart failure is a long-term chronic condition that that occurs when your heart can’t pump blood well enough to meet all of your body’s needs. With the proper treatment and partnership with heart failure experts, people can feel better and live longer. Board-certified cardiologists collaborate with various specialists to help adults manage heart failure with the right balance of medicine, positive lifestyle choices and monitoring.
Learn more about heart failure care at Wellstar.
Advanced Heart Failure
When someone has advanced heart failure, Wellstar offers specialized expertise and leading-edge interventions, such as left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation.
Learn more about advanced heart failure care at Wellstar.
Electrophysiology
Wellstar Kennestone offers a complete spectrum of treatment options for atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia management. We have the most advanced arrhythmia program in the state of Georgia, which includes a comprehensive Atrial Fibrillation Clinic, advanced surgical options and an outstanding track record of success. We provide a multidisciplinary approach to address many aspects of care in one location, resulting in improved care coordination and better patient outcomes.
- Convergent ablation is a new, minimally invasive approach to restore a normal heart rhythm in patients with persistent AF without requiring chest incisions or ports, lung deflation or dissections. Over an 80% success rate in treating patients with continuous AF, eliminating the need for future ablations
- Advanced ablation procedures including AFib and ventricular arrhythmias
- Comprehensive device implantation, including pacemakers and defibrillators
- Lead extraction center
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disease that causes the heart muscle to thicken and stiffen, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. As a Center of Excellence designated by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, Wellstar is one of the leading locations offering comprehensive HCM care in metro Atlanta.
Your personalized treatment plan may include prescribed medication or surgery, including surgical myectomy, alcohol septal ablation and mitral valve repair surgery. We have experience with medications for HCM including myosin inhibitors. Ablation or cardiac surgery, such as an implanted device or a septal myectomy, may also be recommended. These surgeries are performed at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center.
Learn more about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy care at Wellstar.
Interventional Cardiology
Wellstar’s interventional cardiologists use specialized imaging and catheter-based treatments to help patients with heart conditions, and ultimately, to save lives. These specialists use highly skilled and minimally invasive therapies to stop and prevent heart attacks in patients without undergoing open-heart surgery. We also treat patients with rhythm disorders and structural heart conditions. These defects decrease the cardiovascular system’s ability to work correctly.Learn more about Wellstar's interventional cardiology program.
Pediatric Cardiology
Pediatric cardiologists provide highly specialized care for children with congenital heart defects. They have in-depth knowledge of genetic diseases, which are present at birth. Our child heart experts can evaluate and create comprehensive treatment plans for children and teenagers with congenital heart defects, arrhythmias (heart rhythm disorders), cardiomyopathies and heart failure. Wellstar's pediatric cardiology specialists work with a team to provide comprehensive, coordinated care, including pediatric heart surgeons and electrophysiologists (heart rhythm specialists) and occupational therapists, medical geneticists, pediatric nurses and dietitians.Learn more about pediatric cardiology at Wellstar.
Structural Heart and Valve
Our experienced surgeons and cardiologists take a comprehensive approach to diagnose and treat structural heart and valve conditions. Their expertise ranges from traditional open-heart surgery to robotic-assisted valve repair and the latest in minimally invasive surgical techniques, which require only small incisions. Infection, heart disease, or heart attack cause structural heart and valve problems that are often present at birth (congenital). The condition may have no symptoms and cause no problems but require treatment in other cases. When symptoms are present, they can include chest pain or tightening, shortness of breath, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, leg cramps, migraine headaches, and stroke (including transient ischemic attack, also known as a TIA or mini-stroke). The program provides ongoing care – sometimes for life – to patients who have or are at risk for structural heart and valve disease.Procedures include traditional valve surgery and minimally invasive options such as
- Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
- Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair and Replacement (TMVR)
- Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO)
- a proven alternative to long term anticoagulation therapy for stroke- risk reduction in patients with non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
The SAVE program is also involved in numerous clinical trials evaluating cutting-edge minimally invasive device therapy options for complex cardiac conditions.
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