SLUCare Cardiology

SLUCare cardiologists perform full-service cardiac catheterizations at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.

We offer right and left heart catheterization, and coronary angiography for the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis and valvular heart disease. Other diagnostic procedures we perform include coronary artery spasm studies, intravascular ultrasound and constriction/restriction drug studies.

SLUCare cardiologists also perform a number of other therapeutic treatments for the heart, including coronary stenting, coronary and peripheral thrombolytic therapy, and alcohol septal ablation for the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

SLUCare's Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Ablation Laboratory offers a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services for the advanced treatment cardiac arrhythmias. Our services include pulmonary vein isolation/ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation; intracardiac recordings of electrical activity; identification of site origin and mechanisms of dysrhythmias; intracardiac mapping of accessory pathways and ventricular tachycardias; and transvenous RF ablation of sustained supraventricular and ventricular dysrhythmias.

We also offer cardioversions and signal-averaged electrocardiography, and implant pacemakers and automatic cardiac defibrillators.

Echocardiography is a non-invasive ultrasound imaging procedure that provides specific information regarding the heart valves and the efficiency of the heart muscle's contractions. Echocardiogram is the diagnostic test of choice for patients with valvular heart disease; aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency, mitral insufficiency, and tricuspid and pulmonary valve problems.

SLUCare offers echocardiogram tests at the Heart Valve Clinic in the University Tower and SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. Transesophageal echocardiography, a technique in which an ultrasound probe is placed in the esophagus, provides superb images and is available at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.

SLUCare cardiologists offer a full range of convenient, outpatient noninvasive cardiac imaging procedures in combination with either exercise or drug stress testing. Imaging experts provide same-day reports to your referring physician. Services include stress testing, stress echocardiography and dobutamine stress echocardiography.

A cardiopulmonary stress test is used to evaluate heart patients, especially those with cardiac failure. In addition to walking on a treadmill, patients wear a specialized mouthpiece that measures gas exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide) in the lungs while they exercise. SLUCare cardiologists offer cardiopulmonary stress testing in our cardiology practice at the University Tower building.

This advanced X-ray imaging technique provides high-quality images of the heart's structures and of the coronary arteries. Patients who would benefit from CTA may have symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath during exertion but cannot undergo a stress test due to an inability to exercise.

Patients who have had stress tests that could not rule out a problem with blood flow to the heart, or who have known structural defects of the heart, may also benefit from CTA. This service is available at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.

SLUCare's cardiac rehabilitation program is designed to restore heart patients to their best possible levels of physical, psychological and social functioning through education, exercise prescription and formal exercise sessions, and smoking cessation counseling. SLUCare cardiologists offer cardiac rehabilitation at the University Tower building.

SLUCare's cardiovascular risk-reduction program includes a comprehensive health screening, followed by an in-depth explanation of your risk factors for coronary artery disease. Our diagnostic procedures include cardiac stress testing, CRP and an assessment of cholesterol levels and diet. SLUCare offers preventative cardiology services at the University Tower office.