East Jefferson General Hospital features state-of-the-art facilities, technology and equipment to deliver award-winning cardiac care to our patients. Combining these highly advanced capabilities with expert physicians, nurses and staff is the reason East Jefferson can provide the excellence in all areas of the heart and veinious system.

Our capabilities include the following:

Coronary Care Unit

Our Coronary Care Unit (CCU) provides specialized care to patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, cardiac dysrhythmia and various other cardiac conditions that require heart monitoring and treatment. Continuous monitoring of the cardiac rhythm by skilled cardiovascular nurses allows for immediate interventions to meet patient needs and achieve optimal outcomes. Many of our nurses are board certified in critical care or cardiac vascular nursing. Achieving and maintaining certification helps assure employers, patients and the public that nurses have met rigorous requirements in a specialized area of practice.

Cardiac Telemetry Units

A Telemetry Unit provides continuous cardiac monitoring of heart patients 24 hours a day for patients who are having, or at risk for having, heart problems or who are recovering from a cardiac event such as open heart surgery, angioplasty, pacemaker insertion, a heart attack or dysrhythmia. Each patient wears a radio-frequency telemetry monitor and their heart rhythm is watched at all times by qualified staff allowing medical personnel to respond immediately to any changes. Our telemetry nurses and staff have specialized training in cardiovascular care and many nurses are board certified in cardiac vascular nursing.

Catheterization Laboratory

The EJGH Catheterization Laboratory, or cath lab, is one of the newest in the region and features diagnostic imaging equipment used to support a catheterization procedure. The Lab has a seven bed holding area for patients to be monitored before and after a procedure. It also has three suites where the catheterizations are performed. The Lab performs coronary, peripheral vascular and carotid diagnostic and interventional procedures on blockages. These interventions may be in the form of a stent placement.

Dr. James McKinnie is now performing CryoCath at EJGH. This innovative procedure, pioneered by Dr. McKinnie at EJGH, may be the most effective treatment yet for atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) which is a leading cause of stroke. CryoCath can reduce or even eliminate that risk along with the need for medications. Click here to view a video and learn more.

The cath lab also provides cardiovascular services for stroke patients on an ongoing basis:

• Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization—A special dye is injected to trace the movement of blood through the arteries to pinpoint the size and location of plaque build-up.
• Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA)—A small balloon is inserted to the point of blockage and inflated to improve the blood flow.
• Coronary STENT Placement—(including drug eluding stents) A small expandable wire tube is inserted into the artery to hold it open.
• Electrophysiology Studies and Ablation
• Permanent Pacemaker Insertion
• Automated Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (AICD) Insertion
• Peripheral Vascular Angiography and Intervention

Non-Invasive Cardiac Lab

The Non-Invasive Cardiac Lab offers a variety of services including Echocardiograms, electrocardiograms (EKG or ECG), event recorders, exercise stress tests, holter monitoring, nuclear stress tests, signal-averaged EKGs and stress echocardiograms.