Norton Healthcare hospitals were recognized today during a presentation by the American Heart Association with Mission: Lifeline Gold Plus and Gold awards for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks. The American Heart Association also presented Norton Healthcare with the Mission Lifeline: Regional Trailblazer Award. The award recognized Norton Healthcare for serving as…
In 2011, Norton Children’s Heart Institute identified an area where we could improve the care provided to families in our region. We have been working hard to make things better ever since. We reviewed the records of all babies who had heart surgery at Norton Children’s Hospital. We found that only about one-third of the…
Heart disease kills more Americans than any other disease, and according to the American Heart Association, African Americans may face a higher risk for heart disease compared with other groups. Kelly C. McCants, M.D., cardiologist and medical director of Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure Program, said uncontrolled high blood pressure is the…
Audrey Sims’ first clue that her twins’ birth would be complicated came at 14 weeks of pregnancy, when a routine ultrasound found that one of her sons, Aiden, had a cystic hygroma, a fluid collection on the neck. Audrey’s OB/GYN at King’s Daughters’ Hospital in Madison, Indiana, referred Audrey and her husband, Andrew, to Norton…
Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the University of Louisville, includes an expansive outreach service, with 29 participating sites in the region. These sites, throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana, link directly to Norton Children’s Hospital and the specialists at Norton Children’s Heart Institute. Technicians perform echocardiograms on patients from in utero to young adults to…
If you have a patient with a congenital heart disease, you want to make sure he or she gets quality care. But it’s also comforting to know your patient will be well supported and guided through the often complex world of specialist medical care. Stacie Hartlage, R.N., is nurse navigator with Norton Children’s Heart Institute,…
Follow these advanced heart failure signs that indicate your patient may benefit from VAD/heart transplant evaluation LVEF <40% Inability to walk one block without shortness of breath Intolerance of beta blockers Intolerance of ACEi/ARBs Inotrope dependence Progressive renal insufficiency Cardiac index <2.2 l/min BNP or NT-proBNP > 5x normal (BNP > 1000) One heart-failure-related hospitalization…
After 10 years of trying for a second child, Amanda Slayton and her husband, Scott, were jubilant when they conceived their son Seth. Born in February 2018, he is every parent’s prayer — happy, healthy and undemanding. In ways they couldn’t have predicted, their baby’s good nature has been a godsend to the Slaytons. Less…
Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, currently affecting over 5 million people in the U.S. Twenty percent of all strokes occur in patients with A-fib, and A-fib-related strokes are more frequently fatal and disabling. The most common treatment to reduce stroke risk in patients with A-fib is a blood-thinning medication such as…
A new study shows cancer is on its way to becoming the leading cause of death in more counties nationwide.The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed records for 32 million people in the U.S. who died between 2003 and 2015. It found that while overall deaths due to heart disease and cancer are…
Norton Children’s Heart Institute is growing. We recently added a third pediatric cardiac surgeon, who assumes the leadership role long held by Erle H. Austin III, M.D. Housed in Norton Children’s Hospital, the state’s only free-standing, full-service children’s hospital, in collaboration with UofL Physicians, the institute is dedicated to ensuring that patients in Kentucky and…
Removing plaque buildup in the carotid arteries typically required a carotid endarterectomy. Now, Norton Heart & Vascular Institute physicians use the TCAR procedure to help reduce risk of complications. Conventional surgery to clean stroke-causing plaque buildup from carotid arteries often comes with risks ranging from infection to heart attack and nerve damage. Now, a minimally…