Mission's Owen Heart Center provides a full range of cardiology services to diagnose and treat heart disease, America's number one killer. We work with adults, adolescents, children and newborns.
In our cardiology department we offer four cardiac catheterization labs, two electrophysiology labs, 11 echo (ultrasound) machines, an ablation system, more than twenty EKG stations, four treadmills, and a tilt table.
For adult patients whose disease cannot be treated with cardiac medicine or interventions, we also offer various surgical options, many of which are minimally invasive.
Our Cardiologists
The physicians of Asheville Cardiology Associates include 31 cardiologists, including 2 pediatric cardiologists, with offices in Asheville and several other Western North Carolina communities and is the largest physician practice group in the region. Visit the Asheville Cardiology Associates website to learn more.
Cardiac Catheterization is the best-known cardiology procedure, a life-saving means of both diagnosis and treatment.
In cardiac catheterization, a slender tube called a catheter is threaded through the femoral artery in the groin up into the heart. Through the catheter, dye can be released to show if the coronary arteries have blockages. "Balloons" and stents are threaded up into the heart to force open the artery walls and restore blood flow. Then the balloon is slipped out and in most cases, a stent left in place to keep the artery open.
Last year, cardiologists at Mission performed almost 1,400 stent placements and more than 115 balloon angioplasty procedures.
A "heart cath" is often used to diagnose coronary artery disease before a heart attack occurs. In many cases, the vessels can be opened on the spot. In other cases, the "heart cath" may show that open heart surgery is the best treatment for the patient. The images from the cath provide the surgeon with a detailed "map" of the heart he is treating.
Other Invasive and Non-Invasive Treatment Options
In this area, cardiology and radiology work together to identify areas of the heart that are receiving inadequate blood supply. Rather than showing up the coronary arteries that "feed" the muscles of the heart as a heart cath does, these tests show whether the blood is flowing within the muscles themselves. There are several types of echocardiograms, depending on the patient need.
Transthoracic echocardiograms, 2D & 3D, are often performed after a heart attack, to evaluate heart murmurs, or to evaluate heart valve function and disease. They provide moving images of the heart using high frequency sound waves to show the heart's chambers and valves. This lets the sonographer and physician evaluate the pumping action of the heart. An "echo" is often combined with Doppler ultrasound and color Doppler to show blood flow across the heart's valves to evaluate their function. It is used to study valves that may be narrowed (stenotic) or leaking and allowing backflow of blood (regurgitation) and for infants with heart murmurs and cyanosis to see if they may have congenital heart defects.
Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) may be used if an image of the heart is difficult to obtain with a transthoracic echo study. Because the esophagus is located close to the heart, even clearer images of the heart structures can be obtained with a slender probe-tripped transducer slipped down into the esophagus. This takes about 10 minutes. Sedation is used. A TEE can be performed on adults and children, and is often used to evaluate heart valves that may be narrowed (stenotic) or leaking and allowing backflow of blood (regurgitation).
Nuclear cardiology testing provides another way of measuring coronary artery disease. These procedures are performed using a special radioactive isotope, most commonly Sestamibi, and a vasodilator called Persantine that mimics the effect of exercise on the heart MRI cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and cardiac computed tomography with angiography are non-invasive means of providing detailed images of the heart.
Stress echocardiogram / Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG): This is an echocardiogram that is performed before and just after a person exercises on a treadmill. This test can accurately visualize the motion of the heart's walls and compare its pumping action during rest and immediately after stress. It may reveal abnormalities that do not show on a resting Echo test.
Persantine sestamibi stress testing is another way of determining blood flow to and within the heart.
Dobutamine stress echocardiogram is used to evaluate coronary artery disease in patients who are unable to exercise on a treadmill. The Dobutamine makes the heart beat faster and harder, mimicking the effects of exercise.
Electrophysiology (EP) testing is used to look at heart conduction - the electrical impulses within the heart - to determine areas that are not operating properly. This procedure is used to evaluate the patient for atrial fibrillation ablations, implantable defibrillators, and pacemaker insertions.
Intravascular ultrasound: This involves placing a cardiac catheter into an artery in the heart, then using ultrasound waves to provide direct, internal visualization of diseased coronaries.
Tilt table testing is used to show how a person's blood flow is affected by changes in position. It can be used to evaluate unexplained fainting that may be related to the heart.
Mission's Non-Invasive Cardiology lab is accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories.
Minimally invasive cardiology treatments at Mission offer definitive treatment for many heart conditions, currently performing more than 800 placements of heart devices a year, usually on an outpatient basis.
Minimally invasive heart repair for problems including patent foramen ovale (PFO), "hole in the heart".
Implantation of ICD cardioverter-defibrillators, to protect the heart from beating too fast, which can accelerate into sudden cardiac death.
Pacemaker implantation, including bi-ventricular, which Mission was the first hospital in North Carolina to offer. Bi-ventricular pacemakers can dramatically improve the quality of life for people with chronic heart failure.
Atrial Fibrillation is treated using electrophysiology and catheter-based antiarrhythmic ablations called wide area circumferential ablation. An upgraded "mapping" system using CT to produce 3D images is used to identify areas of the heart that are "mis-firing". The goal is to cure the condition. Mission was the first hospital in the state to offer this treatment.
