Brian Howard, MD

When it comes to getting high-quality care for your heart, you can count on Wellstar.

Because we know heart health is an essential part of overall wellness, we offer leading expertise, innovative treatments and compassionate care to protect your cardiovascular health.

From heart attacks and rehabilitation to cardiac surgery and psychological support, your heart is in expert hands at Wellstar.

High-tech heart treatments

With the largest network of certified Emergency Cardiac Care Centers (ECCC) in Georgia, Wellstar ensures world-class heart care is never far away.

Our cardiovascular experts are ready to treat patients at the first signs of a heart attack. We use high-tech equipment—including electrocardiograms (EKG), chest X-rays and cardiac catheterization—to diagnose heart attacks quickly.

Getting the right care can minimize or even prevent heart damage. That’s why Wellstar relies on the most advanced treatments, such as Shockwave technology, medicines and life-saving cardiac surgery, to effectively prevent and treat heart attacks as fast as possible.

Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center has a cardiac hybrid operating room, bringing a catheterization lab and surgery suite together in one place. With catheter-based procedures, our interventional cardiologists can provide expert, minimally invasive heart attack care.

We also perform structural heart procedures, including valve repairs and replacements, along with cardiac surgery and electrophysiology procedures that can determine the cause of heart rhythm problems.

At Wellstar, we don’t just treat heart conditions when they happen. Our providers also offer world-class preventative care, helping people like Latoya Jordan catch chronic conditions—such as high blood pressure—at the very start.

The Wellstar Comprehensive Aortic Program provides treatment for people with emergency and non-emergency diseases of the aorta. We offer cutting-edge procedures and devices to diagnose, monitor and repair all types of aneurysms. From screening to treatment, our team uses a coordinated approach to care which includes comprehensive diagnostic testing. When urgent care is warranted, we can treat aortic emergencies quickly.

Care that never skips a beat

If an on-going heart condition, such as atrial fibrillation (AFib), is keeping you down, Wellstar has a team of experts who can help.

When Frank Ryan’s heart had trouble keeping pace and kept him from playing the tuba, he felt off-beat in everyday life. After getting specialized care at Wellstar, he’s back in the band again.

Wellstar Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. Narendra Kanuru shared state-of-the-art treatments available for heart rhythm disorders.

“Along with advanced medical therapies, we have numerous interventional or surgical therapies, including pacemakers, defibrillators and other advanced cardiac devices as well as cardiac catheter ablation,” Dr. Kanuru said.

Cardiac catheter ablation is a non-surgical procedure available at Wellstar that helps restore a regular heart rhythm by blocking abnormal electrical signals.

With the latest advances in electrophysiology at Wellstar, we’re keeping hearts going strong.

Hope for heart failure

Wellstar also provides expert care for people with congestive heart failure like Bow Matthews. The husband and father-of-two found support from our Heart Failure Academy and learned how to take care of his well-being for the long haul.

To help prevent heart failure flare-ups, Wellstar offers a remote heart monitoring technology that provides real-time health information to our providers.

“With heart failure, as with all health issues, it’s best to take preventative action and stop problems from occurring,” said Dr. Hans Lee, medical director for the Wellstar congestive heart failure program. “Monitoring your heart health and staying in touch with your cardiologist can help keep you out of the hospital and keep your heart in shape.”

For those whose hearts need extra assistance like Mike Clements, a left ventricular assistance device (LVAD) can be a game-changer. An LVAD is a battery-powered pump that is surgically implanted to help the heart more effectively pump blood.

"An LVAD gives patients with severe heart failure the opportunity to get their lives back,” said Dr. Brian Howard, medical director of the advanced heart failure and LVAD program at Wellstar Kennestone. “These life-saving devices are powerful enough to take over for the failing heart. They allow patients to enjoy life with their loved ones as they await a heart transplant, and in some cases, they even serve as an alternate to a heart transplant entirely.”

At the Heart Failure Clinic at Wellstar Cobb Medical Center and the Advanced Heart Failure Program at Wellstar Kennestone, trained experts provide specialized care for those with heart failure and LVAD implants, helping to improve quality of life.

After Mike received his LVAD implant, he was able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Thanks to advanced technology available at Wellstar, patients with heart failure can keep doing what matters most.

Specialized support services

Wellstar has dedicated resources to help people with cardiac conditions find support.

Following a medical event like a heart attack or other serious cardiac problem, Wellstar offers cardiac rehabilitation to get people back on track.

Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically monitored program that provides education, support and lifestyle modifications. Our team helps you learn heart-healthy behaviors and lower your risk for future heart issues.

However, we understand health journeys aren’t just about physical healing. Dealing with heart issues can also cause many difficult mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression.

“At Wellstar, we wanted to build out a program just for our cardiovascular patients because behavioral health and cardiac health are really closely connected,” said Dr. Shawn Coyne, Wellstar director of health psychology and cardiac psychologist. “In fact, cardiac patients are three times more likely to be depressed than the general population.”

After living with three chronic heart conditions for years, John Petrick found solace in meeting with a Wellstar cardiac psychologist. Now, he’s learned new coping skills and how to prioritize his mental well-being.

With support services at the ready, patients with complex conditions can better understand themselves and their overall health.

Care to keep your heart healthy

No matter what your cardiovascular concerns may be, Wellstar is dedicated to helping people with heart conditions live life to the fullest.

Learn more about how Wellstar is protecting heart health in Georgia, and how you can take control of your cardiovascular health.

Pat Gelisse has been dancing for 30 years. She even taught the Carolina shag for a while. It’s a partner dance, sometimes compared to Swing dancing to beach music.

But severe heart failure downgraded Pat’s dancing queen status for close to 10 years.

“I went from feeling happy to feeling like a nothing,” she remembered of that time in her life.

With a team of Wellstar heart specialists working together for her, Pat found hope and new life on the dance floor.

Heart failure masquerades as acid reflux

It started more than a decade ago when Pat lived in central Georgia. She scheduled a doctor’s appointment for what she thought was acid reflux. She popped in on a quick break from her marketing job, assuming it wouldn’t take long.

Blood work and an EKG got Pat a ticket straight to the hospital and a quadruple bypass. 

“My heart got worse; it wasn’t pumping blood,” Pat said.

She was in acute heart failure, a life-threatening condition where the heart doesn’t pump well enough to deliver the necessary amount of oxygen to her body. Pat’s ejection fraction (EF)—the percentage measurement of the blood that leaves the heart each time it pumps—was only 10%. The normal range is 50 to 70%.

It was a scary time, and with a family history of heart problems, Pat was worried. She’d lost both parents to heart failure, as well as other family members.

“I just knew for sure I was going to be next,” said Pat.

Doctors from various academic institutions discussed serious treatments ranging from LVAD to transplant, but because the pumping performance of her heart improved, she was no longer a candidate for those procedures. Instead, Pat spent close to nine years managing her heart failure with a pacemaker and various medications—treatments that failed to get her back on the dance floor.