Top of the pageInnovation - Staying Ahead of the Curve
While the parent members of the Heart Institute each play a role in providing exceptional heart care, it is the collaborative research of the Heart Institute that really fosters and supports innovation. The Heart Institute had a strong foundation on which to build.
The parent members of the Heart Institute have been leaders in
the clinical application of cardiac CT. The first electron beam
CT scanner in Oregon was installed at St. Charles Medical
Center in 2000. Now in addition to the electron beam CT
scanner, Bend Memorial Clinic has installed a 64 slice
multi-detector CT scanner for cardiac diagnostics. The
cardiologists in Bend have been national leaders in adapting
coronary calcium scanning to everyday primary preventive care
for coronary disease.
The cardiac surgeons at St. Charles are among the first in the
nation to perform ablation for atrial fibrillation by minimally
invasive thorascopic techniques and are achieving high success
rates.
The cardiologists have incorporated the radial artery approach
to diagnostic cardiac catheterization and coronary
interventional techniques so well over 60% of patients are
treated in this way while nationally the use of this technique
occurs in only 2% of patients. The advantage, in addition to
greater patient comfort, is shortening hospital stay by an
average of ½ day compared to the rest of the nation.
