NUHEALTH’S NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER IS FIRST HOSPITAL IN NASSAU COUNTY TO OFFER STATE OF THE ART 320 DETECTOR CORONARY ARTERY CT ANGIOGRAMS (320 SLICE MDCT-A)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2011
PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055
NuHealth’s Nassau University Medical Center is First Hospital in Nassau County to Offer State of the Art 320 Detector Coronary Artery CT angiograms (320 slice MDCT-A)
East Meadow, NY… President and CEO of the NuHealth System, Arthur A. Gianelli, announced today the launch of 320 slice coronary CT angiography, with the Nassau University Medical Center being the first hospital in Nassau County to offer this state of the art technology to visualize the coronary arteries. “These heart scans can be performed to evaluate blocked arteries by a noninvasive method. Most scanners available currently use 64 detectors. The advantage of using the 320 detector technology is to achieve very high quality pictures of the heart vessels, faster, but lower radiation exposure,” said Gianelli.
The program, a result of a joint-venture services agreement between NuHealth and the North Shore-LIJ Health System, has resulted in many successes over the past two years, explained chief medical officer and executive vice president of the NuHealth System, Steven J Walerstein, MD, FACP. “We are a hospital system that has experienced a dramatic transformation – we’ve become recognized leaders in high quality care and patient safety. Earlier this year, we were recognized by the National Association for Public Hospitals (NAPH) for having low deaths rates for heart attacks. We have robust programs in clinical cardiology, electrophysiology and heart failure. And, now we have taken cardiac imaging to the next level by offering cutting edge technology to our patients.” He noted that “the real winners are the patients in the community who have access to the very best care available anywhere.”
Dennis Dowling, Regional Executive Director of Physician and Ambulatory Network Services (PAANS) at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, lauded the success of the regionalized cardiology and radiology programs at Nassau University Medical Center, noting, “Amazing things happen when highly qualified professionals come together to advance clinical technology for the betterment of the communities we serve in Nassau County. I congratulate NuHealth and its clinical chairs for their leadership in launching this program.”
Dr. Stanley Katz, senior vice president for cardiovascular services at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, helped to facilitate the program at NuHealth. “You need a very specialized skill set in interpreting cardiac CT both to diagnose and to rule out coronary disease,” he said. “We are happy to lend expertise here since we currently use 64 detector imaging and will soon have 320 detector CT at North Shore University Hospital as well.” Dr Amgad Makaryus, director of cardiovascular imaging at North Shore University Hospital, applied his cardiac imaging expertise to launch the new cardiac CT program at Nassau University Medical Center. He is board certified in cardiology and cardiac CT and is a founding member of the Society of Cardiovascular CT. “The 320-slice AquilionOne CT provides very high temporal and spatial resolution and increased anatomic coverage in a single heartbeat.” He added, “It’s an advanced scanner which avoids attempting to reconstruct images from several beats, so it makes the images remarkably clear for diagnosis.. Also, the algorithm used lowers the amount of radiation delivered during the exam, which is equally important.”
Dr. Sanjay Doddamani, chairman of the department of cardiology said that he was able to see first hand how clear the images are: “I can truly establish with a greater degree of certainty, whether my patient has a blockage or not,” concluding, “If your patient can see the plaque, they are more empowered to act upon it, whether by prevention or intervention.”
About Cardiac CT-Coronary Angiography:
320 Detector Coronary CT-Angiography is a modification of CT chest to provide optimized views of the coronary arteries, improving image quality of the heart and adjacent structures compared with previous generations of CT scanners. The usual indications are to evaluate the presence and extent of coronary artery disease and sometimes to evaluate the course of these vessels as they relate to the great vessels like the aorta and pulmonary artery. Cardiac CT can also be used to visualize the pulmonary veins before ablation procedures for conditions like atrial fibrillation.
For further information, please contact Salma Gene, PA in the department of cardiology at sgene@numc.edu or (516) 296-7456
About NuHealth Cardiac Care:
The department of cardiology sees over 8000 patient encounters per year and performs more than 6500 diagnostic cardiac imaging studies including echocardiography, nuclear perfusion stress tests, MUGA, cardiac catheterizations and other advanced imaging studies like transesophageal echo, tissue-Doppler and strain imaging. There is an arrhythmia center onsite for pacemaker, defibrillator and other rhythm disturbance therapies. A new heart failure center opened earlier this year.
To schedule an appointment or cardiac test please call (516) 296-4949 ext. 3
ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life. Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community. By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.
For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.
Picture: Images of coronary tree; inset, image of coronary artery lumen; right, CT image of heart, great vessels and coronary arteries.
