Brownwood News – The Brownwood Regional Medical Center recently hosted an open house event to showcase the new Catheterization Laboratory now housed within the Heart Center area inside the hospital. BRMC Cardiologist, Dr. Sanjeev Ravipudi, was on-hand to answer questions about the hospital’s newest addition, which will enable medical staff to quickly offer lifesaving interventions for heart attack patients.
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“This is a longtime coming,” said Dr. Ravipudi. “When I first got here we were sending four or five ambulances to Abilene.”
The local hospital sees on average 40 patients each month suffering from varying degrees of cardiac issues, with one or more per week experiencing emergency situations. In the past, the hospital would often refer those patients to clinics and hospitals outside of the Brownwood area. That began to change when Dr. Ravipudi joined the staff in June 2015. Within his first year with the hospital, the doctor had helped establish a mobile cardiac catheterization laboratory. The mobile lab was able to treat cardiac patients effectively as the hospital established a more permanent solution.
Last week BRMC hosted an open house event for the Catheterization Laboratory now housed within the Heart Center area inside the hospital.
“This is the latest and greatest you can get,” said Dr. Ravipudi during the event as he led a tour through the lab. “You hear about the major health systems in the country, these are the machines they have. This is brand new.”
With the Catheterization Lab, Dr. Ravipudi and his team are able to insert a catheter and clear a blocked artery with speed and precision in keeping with national standards.
“From the second a patient is picked up by emergency services to the point they’re on the table is 90 minutes or less,” said Dr. Ravipudi. “They’re notifying us from the field, so we can be here and ready to go. We move really quickly, and we can open an artery within 15 minutes.”
The Catheterization Lab team is on call 24/7 and knows that timing is critical. To quickly be able to offer a treatment option for the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has shown a reduction in mortality. The results of the quick response for the door-to-balloon (angioplasty/possible stent(s) placement) treatment will often mean less heart damage.
The BRMC Heart Center offers many diagnostic services including: Pacemaker implantation and follow-up check, Echocardiography, Holter monitoring, Stress testing, Nuclear Medicine Scans, Elective catheterization lab procedures for Coronary Angiogram, Coronary Angioplasty, Vascular Angiogram, Vascular Angioplasty and now the 24/7, 365 cardiovascular emergency and heart attack care.
