Introducing South Carolina's first freestanding hospital dedicated solely to heart care.

For nearly 40 years, Palmetto Health Richland has been committed to making sure patients have access to the very best cardiac care, tools and technologies available anywhere. That’s important because heart disease is the leading cause of death in South Carolina.

Now we are taking our superior care to a new level...an extraordinary level. In January 2006, Palmetto Health Heart Hospital located at Richland opened its doors, becoming the most advanced, most sophisticated, state-of-the-art cardiac care facility in the area. Serving patients from the Midlands and all over central South Carolina, our $80 million, 200,000-square-
foot hospital is the state’s only freestanding facility dedicated entirely to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Our growing demand for services is enhanced by our focus on the total patient experience. The new Heart Hospital allows our caregivers to maximize care, convenience and accessibility, while still being able to give attention to individual needs. Our continuum of care begins with disease prevention and management to emergency services and diagnosis,
to surgery and rehabilitation, all performed in beautiful surroundings. With an emphasis on nature and healing, this unique building offers an extraordinary patient experience.

Built specifically to meet the needs of our patients, there is a fluid transition between heart procedures and patient rooms. Inspired by South Carolina’s natural beauty, this unique building offers patients and visitors a comfortable and soothing experience complete with waterfalls and landscaped courtyards. Each spacious, family-oriented room offers a view of the
outside to encourage healing.

Click here to see the elements on which the Heart Hospital is based.

Innovative Design
We started with the idea of treating heart and vascular disease and built a remarkable hospital to match. Our medical design team, comprised of cardiologists, heart surgeons and clinicians, worked with architects and hospital administrators to create one of the most comprehensive, patient-centered physician-driven cardiac care centers in the United States. The hospital was literally designed to maximize care, convenience, accessibility and effectiveness with the focus on the total patient experience.

The atrium's three waterfalls represent the rivers of the Midlands: the Broad, Saluda and Congaree, which flow through the atrium in the form of terrazzo tile that flows out the front door. The healing properties of water were incorporated throughout the building to create a soothing and peaceful environment. Inpatient units are named for South Carolina lakes: Hartwell, Wateree, Marion, Murray and Moultrie.

Native limestone make up part of the hospital walls and three landscaped courtyards, located between inpatient units, allow natural sunlight into patient rooms, giving them and their families a sense of comfort looking out on nature.

With the 100,000-square-foot medical office building attached to the Heart Hospital, quality physician attention is literally steps away for our patients and patients of our cardiology and cardiovascular surgical partners. This design enables physicians and clinical staff to spend more time caring for patients.

To provide an unparalleled level of individualized care for residents of South Carolina, our hospital includes:

Excellence in Clinical Services
There are some heart-related services that call for the expertise that only a specialized heart hospital can provide. Palmetto Health Heart Hospital includes a wide range of diagnostic and interventional treatments of coronary artery diseases and cardiac arrhythmias. To ensure the highest standard of care, we provide continuous monitoring of quality, patient outcomes and complications by procedure, patient and physician.

Excellence in care is directly related to the quality of our team. Palmetto Health Heart Hospital is comprised of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary nationally recognized team of:

• board-certified cardiologists
• board-certified cardiovascular surgeons
• board-certified anesthesiologists credentialed to perform open-heart anesthesia
• critical care registered nurses, registered nurses, outcomes managers, case managers,
  specialized cardiovascular surgical nurses and technologists, physician assistants, consulting
  physicians, residents and fellows, perfusionists, dietitians, respiratory therapists, exercise
  physiologists, social workers, pastoral counselors, pharmacists and discharge planners.

Catheterization Labs
Palmetto Health Heart Hospital’s Catheterization (Cath) Lab department utilizes the latest specialized equipment
and procedures in providing cardiac services. Timing is critical when a person is having a cardiac event; therefore,
our Cath Lab team is on call 24 hours a day. We perform diagnostic and interventional procedures, as well as electrophysiology studies. Such procedures include ablations, angioplasties, biventricular pacemakers, permanent pacemakers, balloon angioplasty, implanted cardiac defibrillators and stents. Our medical staff has been involved with implementing new cardiac procedures, including using the first drug-eluting stents in Columbia and chronic occlusion
devices.

Cardiac Diagnostics
Palmetto Health Heart Hospital’s Cardiac Diagnostics department features the latest technology in diagnostic equipment which enable physicians to enhance diagnosis of heart disease with more accuracy and in a more direct method. The
department is comprised of three specialized labs: Echocardiography (Echo), Electrocardiography (EKG) and Perivascular (PV).

Last year, our Cardiac Diagnostics department performed more than 60,000 procedures. Some of the procedures include echo, Venous doppler, treadmill stress testing, nuclear stress testing, EKG, transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE), vein mapping and holter monitoring.

Cardiovascular Surgery
Our cardiovascular surgical team is committed to advancing the field with the latest innovative technologies and procedures. Palmetto Health Heart Hospital was the first hospital in the state, and among the first in the nation, to perform minimally invasive mitral valve surgery. Our surgeons are dedicated to finding new procedures that lessen patient trauma during cardiovascularsurgeries and continue to adopt methods to decrease pain, complications and recovery time, while achieving
superior results.

Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)
Following cardiovascular surgery, patients are placed in our CVICU, which specializes in post-operative open heart and vascular surgery patients. Patients and their families appreciate that all of our CVICU rooms are private with limited visitation, which allows patients to get the intensive medical attention and rest needed for a successful recovery.

Coronary Care Unit (CCU)
Palmetto Health Heart Hospital’s CCU cares for critically ill patients with a wide variety of cardiac illnesses, such as acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), congestive heart failure and life-threatening arrythmias. Like the CVICU, the rooms in CCU also have limited visitation allowing family members to visit during selected times of the day, so that the patient can rest and receive intensive medical attention.

Progressive Care Unit (PCU)
The Progressive Care Unit (PCU) at Palmetto Health Heart Hospital cares for patients with acute coronary illnesses
and post-interventional care. Our PCU offers an intermediary level of care for patients requiring more intensive monitoring than telemetry patients but who are more stable than the CCU and the CVICU patients. Once the patient’s health has improved, he will be transferred to one of our telemetry units to fully recuperate.

Telemetry Units
Palmetto Health Heart Hospital has four non-critical, step-down cardiac units known as telemetry units. All of the rooms are private and feature telemetry (bedside) monitoring systems. Patients in the telemetry units include pre/post cardiovascular surgery, balloon angioplasty, stent, transesophageal echo, cardioversions, pacemaker, post heart attack, congestive heart failure, syncope, diabetic, renal, stroke and other patients requiring a progressive coronary care environment.

Clinical Research
With cardiovascular disease being the number one killer both in South Carolina and in the United States today, Palmetto Health Heart Hospital has implemented a unique cardiovascular research program which enables us to provide patients with the latest advances in cardiovascular medications and clinical trials to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. Clinical trials are a formal, regulated way to test new treatments, such as drugs or equipment.

Training Tomorrow’s Medical Leaders
Palmetto Health Richland, a major teaching hospital for the University of South Carolina (USC), has always been at the forefront of new and emerging technologies and medical procedures. Palmetto Health Heart Hospital is no different. Several of our cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons serve as faculty members and mentors to residents at the USC School of Medicine, ensuring highly trained doctors for future generations. USC medical students shadow cardiologists
and surgeons during rotations and surgical electives.

As part of our current heart center services, we offer a comprehensive lifestyle management program for cardiac patients, individuals at risk for developing heart disease, and persons interested in a medically supervised exercise program. The Cardiac Rehabilitation program is staffed by exercise physiologists and exercise leaders trained in developing programs for cardiac patients, registered nurses certified in advanced cardiac life support, a dietitian and vocational rehabilitation personnel. Referral or written permission from a physician is required prior to joining Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Phase I
Phase I begins during hospitalization after a heart attack or heart surgery. Education is important during this phase, with emphasis on identifying and changing certain factors that may place the patient at greater risk. Patient educators work closely with the supervising physician, and place special emphasis on lifestyle, nutrition, exercise and medication.

Phase II
Typically lasting up to 12 weeks, this structured program is for men and women who have recently experienced a cardiac problem or hospitalization. Individualized exercise and education programs are designed to help participants learn how to reduce risk factors for future health problems.

Phase III
This lifetime maintenance program helps participants continue heart healthy habits. Exercise is still medically supervised and monitored. Phase III is open to anyone interested in a medically based exercise program.

Education
A variety of topics are offered to heart disease patients and their families including the heart disease process, medications, risk factor modification, exercise, weight control, nutrition, stress management and more.

Nutritional Information
The Heart Hospital's dietitian teaches participants and their families how to make heart healthy dietary changes. Individual and group instruction is provided, as well as information and counseling for very low-fat and vegetarian diets.

Stress Management
Stress management and relaxation sessions are offered on a regular basis for interested participants.

Program Hours
Exercise, counseling and educational sessions are held weekday mornings and evenings. For more information, call 803-434-6966.

The Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at Palmetto Health Heart Hospital is a comprehensive program which focuses on the patient’s maintenance and post-rehabilitation pulmonary wellness.  Using accurate diagnosis, therapy, emotional support and education, the custom-tailored, multidisciplinary pulmonary wellness program stabilizes or reverses both the physiopathology and psychopathology of pulmonary diseases. The program attempts to return the patient to his/her highest possible functional capacity allowed by the pulmonary handicap and overall life situation.

Our pulmonary team consists of a respiratory therapist, registered nurses, exercise physiologists, registered dietitian, other rehabilitation professionals and a board-certified pulmonologist medical director — all committed to the patient’s recovery.

Physician referral is required for patients to participate in the program. For more information, call 803- 434-6774.

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Palmetto Health Heart Hospital’s 10,500-square-foot Chest Pain ER (CPER), located adjacent to the Palmetto Health Richland Emergency Department, functions as a rule-out area for patients who are experiencing chest pain. The CPER includes 20 observation rooms and four treatment beds for special outpatient procedures and is fully monitored with telemetry monitors. Each room is equipped with a television and a bed designed for more comfortable stays.

After consultation by a cardiologist, patients who have presented with chest pain to the Emergency Department can be transferred to the CPER for up to 23-hour observation. Rule-outs are done using a rapid rule-out protocol. As an added benefit, all varieties of stress tests are available seven days a week to help increase the speed of this protocol. Patients can expect the course of treatment and tests to take about 12-18 hours — the average time involved — which is necessary to fully rule out a cardiac event. Once the protocol is completed, the cardiologist will read the stress tests and decide if further work-up is necessary.

The unit also is used for patients who need short-term observation without admission, including those with asthma and congestive heart failure.

The Unit
Palmetto Health Heart Hospital's Mobile Coronary Care Unit (Mobile CCU) is an intensive care unit on wheels that transports cardiac and critical care patients to Palmetto Health Baptist, Palmetto Health Richland or Palmetto Health Heart Hospital from outlying hospitals. This specially-equipped ambulance is outfitted with the same state-of-the-art monitoring systems, equipment and life-saving pharmaceuticals used in the hospitals intensive care units. On-board equipment includes a full array of comprehensive monitoring devices as well as:

• Defibrillators
• Mechanical ventilator
• Intravenous infusion pumps
• External pacemaker and Temporary Transvenous Pacemaker capabilities
• Pulse oximetry
• 12 Lead EKG/Fax capability
• Non-invasive blood pressure monitors
• Invasive pressure monitors
• Intra-aortic balloon pump
• Extensive line of pharmacological agents including fibrinolytics

Once a patient is aboard the Mobile CCU ambulance, he or she receives the same level of care as if he or she were just admitted to Palmetto Health Richland or Palmetto Health Heart Hospital.

During transport, the Mobile CCU uses an advanced communications system to maintain direct, en-route contact with hospitals and physicians. This technology provides cardiac and acute stroke patients access to vital resources not available in a traditional ambulance.

The Team
A team of highly-skilled healthcare professionals accompanies each patient during transport aboard the Mobile CCU. This healthcare team includes a paramedic/emergency medical technician and a registered nurse, with extensive cardiovascular/critical care training, who work closely with the units medical director to assure the highest level of care.

Mobile CCU Patients
Patients with cardiac problems, acute stroke or critical care needs are candidates for transport. The Mobile CCU also will transport patients for outpatient services or direct hospital admission from any of the following facilities in South Carolina:

• Hospitals
• Physicians offices
• Long-term care facilities
• Walk-in clinics/urgent care facilities

Call for Transport: 803-434-6516 or 1-800-361-0054.

Palmetto Health Heart Hospital is dedicated to reducing cardiovascular and stroke mortality and morbidity through education, research and improved diagnosis and treatment.

There are multiple, time-critical steps involved in delivering care that will increase a stroke patient's chances of survival without disability. The steps in this chain of recovery include:

• Rapid identification of stroke symptoms and a timely response by those who experience the onset of stroke,
• Quick access to emergency medical assistance,
• Rapid response, treatment and transport by EMS to appropriate treatment centers,
• Rapid diagnosis and intervention at a stroke center,
• Specialized treatment and evaluation for complications and precipitating factors, and
• Appropriate rehabilitation when applicable.

The Stroke Center's services reflect a new era in the treatment of stroke. The Center uses state-of-the-art assessment and treatment to the benefit of stroke patients.

Services offered include:

• Stroke team available around the clock –consists of neurologists, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons and radiologists
• TPA protocol for acute stroke patients
• Access to clinical drug trials
• CT scan available 24-hours-a-day
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Transcranial doppler
• Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy available daily
• Video swallowing evaluations available daily
• MD specializing in rehabilitation and physical medicine
• Stroke Center medical director
• Daily case management of patients
• Opportunities to participate in post-hospitalization, follow-up health-status studies

• Weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.
• Sudden dimness, blurriness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye.
• Difficulty speaking or trouble understanding speech.
• Sudden severe headache with no apparent cause.
• Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness, or sudden falls, especially with any other symptoms.
• Stroke is a medical emergency. Every minute counts.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to an area in the brain is interrupted, usually by a blood clot or broken vessel. Brain cells in the specific area of the brain deprived of blood are killed by a stroke. Without prompt medical treatment, a larger area of brain cells surrounding the immediate area also will die.

When brain cells die, the stroke victim loses control of the abilities that area of the brain once controlled. The specific abilities lost or affected, such as speech, movement and memory, depend on the location in the brain where the stroke occurs and the size of the stroke. Some stroke victims recover completely from less serious strokes while others lose their lives.

• Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing 15,000 Americans every year.
• Of the 400,000 survivors annually in the U.S., between 10- and 18-percent will have another stroke within one year. The rate of having another stroke is about 10-percent per year thereafter.
• Stroke is the number-one cause of adult disability. Three million Americans are living with the effects of stroke.
• A stroke strikes every minute in America.
• Stroke costs the U.S. $30 billion annually in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
• Stroke is the most preventable of all catastrophic conditions

Stroke risk factors are things that make you more likely to have a stroke. There are some risk factors for stroke which are not controllable:

• Age: The chances of having a stroke go up with age.
• Gender: Males have a slightly higher stroke risk than females.
• Race: African-Americans have a higher stroke risk than most other racial groups.
• Family History: Risk is higher for people with a family history of stroke.
• Diabetes: Possibly due to circulation problems that diabetes can cause.

Controllable risk factors can be divided into medical and lifestyle-related. Through a combination of medical attention and lifestyle changes, the risk of stroke can be significantly reduced.

• High Blood Pressure: (hypertension) increases risk four to six times. It is the single most important controllable stroke-risk factor. For most people, high blood pressure can be controlled through diet, exercise, weight loss, medication, or a combination of these.
• Previous Stroke Symptoms: Known as transient ischemic attacks, they can increase the risk of stroke 10 times. If the underlying cause of the TIA is related to blood clots or blocked arteries, medication and/or surgery may reduce the risk of a full stroke.
• Heart Disease: Especially atrial fibrillation, which can cause blood clots to form and travel to the brain. Atrial fibrillation can be treated with medication.
• Carotid Artery Disease: The main supply of blood between the heart and the brain becomes blocked by the build-up of plaque and other fatty deposits. Depending on the degree of blockage, surgery to clear blocked arteries may be indicated. Medication and diet also may help reduce risk.

• Smoking: Injures blood vessel walls and speeds up hardening of the arteries. If a smoker quits today, within five years the stroke risk from smoking will be the same as someone who's never smoked.
• Alcohol Consumption: The relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke is not clearly understood. Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with an increased risk of stroke. Moderate consumption has been associated with a lower incidence of stroke. If you drink, limit your consumption to one or two drinks daily.

If you or members of your family have questions about Palmetto Health Heart Hospital, please click the Email us icon below or call us at (803) 434-6966.