Mercy Health Opens New Heart Valve Clinic

A new heart valve clinic provides a multidisciplinary team approach for diagnosing and treating patients with valvular heart disease.

The St. Elizabeth Health Center (Youngstown, OH, USA) heart valve clinic was opened after a review of echocardiograms suggested that a high percentage of patients in the Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties in the Mahoning Valley (OH, USA), have severe valvular heart disease. As a result, when echocardiographic findings indicate that a patient suffers from severe valvular heart disease, the echo technician immediately notifies the interpreting cardiologist and valve clinic coordinator.

The heart valve clinic coordinator then works with the primary care physician and interpreting cardiologist to coordinate additional diagnostic testing and consultation. Once the specialists have identified treatment recommendations, findings and recommendations are shared with the patient’s primary care providers.

“This multidisciplinary team brings together cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons to evaluate each patient and collaboratively develop individual treatment plans best suited to meet the needs and provide the best outcomes for every patient,” said Mariann Pacak, RN, MHHS, director of Heart & Vascular Services. “By encouraging discussions between cardiologists and surgeons, patients with complex valvular disease can be thoroughly assessed for the appropriate treatment.”

Mercy Health (Cincinnati, OH, USA) is the largest health system in Ohio and one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States. Mercy Health Youngstown provides a full spectrum of health care services, including acute inpatient and trauma, outpatient and ambulatory, rehabilitation, behavioral, emergency and urgent care, primary care physicians in patient-centered medical homes, specialist physician care, home health, home medical equipment, and long-term care and hospice care.

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