Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital Opens Cardiac Lab

Press release from Northwell Health:

May 19, 2021

The Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital (SABHH) at North Shore University Hospital is the first in the Northeast to open a $3 million cardiac catherization laboratory equipped with the latest technology from Siemens Healthineers. The enhanced patient care laboratory was made possible through a gift from Manuel H. and Claire Barron of Oyster Bay, NY, long-time supporters of Northwell Health.

The new cardiac catheterization laboratory, the first of five slated to be updated at SABHH, is equipped with Siemens’ latest ARTIS icono technology, which reduces radiation doses with high-definition imaging to provide more precise placements of stents to lower potential complications in complex cases.

Interventional cardiac procedures are used to treat heart attacks and coronary heart disease using a non-surgical procedure to open blockages within the heart’s coronary arteries. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), commonly known as stenting or angioplasty, restores arterial blood flow allowing oxygen-rich blood to feed the heart muscle. Other procedures performed in the catheterization lab include arterial and venous procedures treating leg blood vessels as well as procedures to fix and replace ailing heart valves.

“The latest Siemens’ technology is integral to providing the highest level of care to patients during PCI,” said Rajiv Jauhar, MD, chief of cardiology at the SABHH. “The new modalities work in an integrated fashion reducing radiation doses up to eight to 10 times from previous technology as well as allowing for precision PCI. Coronary arteries are about three millimeters in diameter and enhanced visualization improves the view of vessels and blockages, which helps with the placement of stents.”

The technology automatically selects the lowest radiation dose for the patient based on the cardiologist’s preferred image quality during a cardiac interventional procedure.

Interventional cardiologists at the SABHH perform approximately 2,700 PCI procedures annually.

“We are enormously grateful to Manuel H. and Claire Barron for their generous gift to the Department of Cardiology at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital. Our goal is to provide the most advanced, highest quality cardiovascular care to the patients we treat in the community,” said Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, chair of cardiology of the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. “Mr. and Mrs. Barron are tremendous advocates of the health system and are wonderful individuals committed to making a positive difference for countless people in our region. The Manuel H. and Claire Barron Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is critical to our mission of providing state-of-the-art care. We are immensely grateful to the Barrons for this incredible gift.”

For more information about cardiac care at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital please call (516) 562-4100 or the procedural booking office at (516) 562-3929.

This press release was produced by Northwell Health. The views expressed here are the author's own.