Heart Care

Advanced technology, medical expertise and compassionate care come together in the cardiac program at St. Francis. We care for the heart from the heart - never losing sight of nurturing, "hands-on" care for patients and their families.

Advanced treatment for cardiovascular disease
Our cardiovascular programs include education and screening, assessment, a full spectrum of diagnosis and treatment modalities, rehabilitation and disease management. Our full-service cardiac program offers:

• Cardiac and thoracic surgery
• Cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs, both inpatient and outpatient
• Diagnostic cardiology
• Electrophysiology
• Interventional cardiology

St. Francis is equipped to treat virtually all types of cardiac problems including:

• cardiac rhythm disorders (arrhythmias)
• congenital heart disease
• coronary artery disease
• heart failure

Vascular Disease including Carotid Artery Disease, Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm, and Peripheral Artery Disease

Cutting-Edge Technology
St. Francis' renovated cardiac catheterization labs and electrophysiology labs provide leading-edge diagnostics and therapies including cardiac, carotid and peripheral stenting and 3-D cardiac mapping.

The hospital's 64-slice CT scanner, a non-invasive tool to diagnose coronary artery disease in a matter of hours, can be used when a patient presents with chest pain. The scanner is safer, cheaper and more accurate than stress testing and can eliminate the need for an invasive catheterization procedure.

Emergency Care when Seconds Count
Patients experiencing a heart-care emergency will be treated by board certified Emergency Medicine physicians in our Emergency Department who are all residency trained in emergency medicine and ABEM, American Board of Emergency Medicine certified. If a patient requires further treatment in the cath lab, surgical unit, cardiac unit or Intensive Care Unit (ICU), St. Francis' specially trained nurses, technicians and board certified physicians will provide the highest level of care and follow-up.

Cardiac Mapping: One example of revolutionary treatment for your heart
Cardiac mapping is a revolutionary procedure that uses a multi-electrode catheter to identify the exact location of a patient's arrhythmia and eliminate it.

The system produces three-dimensional images of the heart, allowing physicians to see irregularities never visible before.

Here's how it works:

During the procedure, known as advanced cardiac mapping, a physician guides a multi-electrode catheter into the patient's heart chamber. Once inside, the balloon is inflated, which allows the electrodes on the mesh to stay in the same configuration. Without ever touching the walls of the heart, the catheter is moved around to record the heart's electrical activity and feed that information into a computer.

The system simultaneously picks-up electrical impulses from more than 3000 points within the heart chamber. The information is then displayed in a three-dimensional view showing the heart's electrical activity.

Surgery is rarely done to treat an arrhythmia. In most cases, physicians perform a procedure immediately following mapping known as radio-frequency catheter ablation, destroying abnormal tissue in the heart. Medication also is a treatment option.

Experienced Team
Specialists from our multi-disciplinary health team - cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, technicians, imaging, cardiac rehabilitation specialists, dietitians, case managers and chaplains - collaborate to bring the highest level of medical expertise and individualized care for patients. Read more about Wheaton Franciscan Heart Care.

For more information about St. Francis Heart Care Services, please call (414) 647-5000.