Heart and Vascular Services

Adventist Cardiovascular Network specializes in cardiac catheterization, a diagnostic test that determines blockages and narrowing in the arteries that supply blood to the heart.  The Network has two state-of-the-art laboratories located at Adventist Hinsdale and Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospitals, which maintain 24-hour access, every day of the year for emergency cases.

Based on the findings of the catheterization, cardiologists can perform several peripheral vascular procedures that restore proper blood flow to the heart – such as angioplasty and the placement of drug-eluding stents.   

Angioplasty involves placing a small balloon into a blocked coronary artery and inflating it to open the vessel for improved blood flow.  Stents are small metal mesh tubes that are used to hold the vessel open. New stents are drug-coated and help limit the growth of tissue within the arteries, which can restrict blood flow. These have reduced the need for repeat procedures to an even greater degree. 

Some patients who have an angioplasty will develop blockages again over time – called restenosis. Brachytherapy places a low-level radiation source into the coronary artery to reduce the chances of a blockage reoccurring. 

Open Heart Surgery

Board-certified cardiovascular surgeons perform more than 200 coronary bypass and valve surgeries every year, and consistently perform better than national benchmarks as defined by the Society for Thoracic Surgery.