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Wheeling Hospital Opens Expanded Cardiac Cath Lab

Photo by Linda Comins Dr. Adel Frenn, left, director of cardiac services at Wheeling Hospital, and Dr. Angelo Georges, chief medical officer, examine the Artis zee angiography system in the hospital’s new cardiac catheterization lab Friday.

Wheeling Hospital on Friday unveiled its new, expanded cardiac catheterization lab featuring the latest technology for treatment of heart and vascular disease.

“Our cath lab will take us into the future today,” Diane Livengood, senior director of imaging services, said.

Livengood said the new facility utilizes “the most advanced technology available for treating heart and vascular disease.”

The expanded lab demonstrates “our commitment to excellence in the delivery of cardiac care,” Chris Coffield, cardiac imaging manager, said, adding the new lab offers “technology that you’re not going to see anywhere in the valley right now.”

Dr. Adel Frenn, an interventional cardiologist and director of cardiac services, called it “a momentous day for our institution.”

“This is a state-of-the-art facility that we can be proud of for years to come,” he said.

The lab is nearly three times larger than its predecessor, built in 1978. The expanded facility is located in the former emergency room area. The current emergency trauma center opened in Tower 5 in 2012.

The cath lab features Siemens’ Artis zee angiography system with fully digital equipment and advanced technology. Flat-panel detectors enable physicians to obtain three-dimensional images in high resolution without the distortion common with conventional X-ray techniques. The flat detectors also help physicians see interventional devices, such as guide wires and catheters, in precise detail and from almost any angle.

Coffield said the system uses the lowest possible radiation dose, noting its ergonomic design makes procedures faster and less stressful for patients.

The lab is capable of treating nearly all cardiovascular diseases, Coffield said. The lab can be used to diagnose and treat chest pain, heart attack and atrial fibrillation and to implant pacemakers and defibrillators.

“I’m very excited. … This will be a springboard for many new procedures and many new programs to come,” Dr. Angelo Georges, Wheeling Hospital chief medical officer, said.

The Most Rev. Michael J. Bransfield, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, blessed each room in the new complex.

“It is a great joy to be here. … It’s unbelievable to see this technology of the 21st century,” he said.

Bransfield said the new lab “truly will help our patients in a very beautiful way.”

Wheeling Hospital’s cardiac cath lab is an accredited AHA Mission: Lifeline Heart Attack Receiving Center and a Certified Chest Pain Center with PCI and Resuscitation.

Four of the interventional cardiologists and three of the cardiologists who work in the lab are ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation for their skills in treating chest pain and heart attacks.

In recent years, interventional cardiologists at Wheeling Hospital have performed revolutionary procedures to remove blockage of coronary arteries and have implanted the newest devices to regulate heart beats.

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