OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital has opened a cardiac catheterization lab to diagnose and treat heart attacks.
The level II cath lab opened Oct. 11 and uses angioplasty and other interventions to treat heart attacks, eliminating the need for patients to be transferred. Previously, the hospital was designated as a level I cath lab, where blockages could be identified and heart attacks diagnosed, though not treated.
"This new service will allow much quicker management of these patients," Douglas Van Fossen, MD, interventional cardiologist and director of the new cath lab, said in an Oct. 21 news release.
"The quicker these procedures are done, the more heart muscle is saved. We need these services in proximity to where these events occur, and we need to provide services where patients are."
In addition to Dr. Van Fossen, the cath lab is staffed by two other interventional cardiologists, as well as a team of nurses, radiologic technologists and noninterventional cardiologists.
The hospital plans to invest in a second cath lab in the future so that one could be used for imaging and diagnosis and the other for interventions.