A newly renovated and expanded cutting-edge Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Hudson Regional Hospital offers early diagnoses, treatments and procedures that can potentially save limbs and lives.
Known as a cath lab, the 10,000-square-foot facility at the Secaucus hospital marked its opening with a ribbon-cutting in June and is gradually phasing in procedures as approved by the state, said Dr. Nizar Kifaieh, President and CEO of Hudson Regional Hospital.
“Right now, we’re in the initial phase,” Dr. Kifaieh said, referencing diagnostic testing for heart conditions. In the next stage, interventions for those conditions will be performed at the lab.
Investing In Groundbreaking Tech
Since taking over the facility at 55 Meadowlands Parkway in 2018, Hudson Regional Hospital has invested $50 million in capital improvements to secure the most groundbreaking technologies available.
The hospital’s investment in new technologies also includes the Institute of Robotic Surgery featuring the Da Vinci XI Robotic System, ExcelsiusGPS and the Mazor Robotic Guidance System as well as access to more physician groups, and a patient coordination department to ensure that all patients who come to the facility for any services can receive cohesive and seamless treatment for all their health care needs.
“The implementation of this new technology will support early diagnosis of coronary disease, as well as provide for treatment of peripheral vascular disease, neuro intervention (acute stroke), and much more,” Dr. Kifaieh said. “This investment will allow us to treat patients’ heart conditions with minimally invasive procedures, resulting in shorter and easier recovery periods.”
At the laboratory, doctors perform testing and procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions, which require a specialized facility due to the complexity of the cardiovascular system and the heart itself.
Expert Cardiovascular Care Provided
The cath lab not only offers the latest in state-of-the-art technology, but expert cardiovascular care from a team of cardiologists, nurses, and radiologists who are trained in a variety of diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures, Dr. Kifaieh said.
Lab Director Dr. Vladimir Znamensky specializes in coronary interventions, and treats a wide range of vascular diseases, including peripheral vascular procedures for peripheral arterial disease, and radiofrequency venous ablation of venous insufficiency, when leg veins don’t allow blood to flow back to the heart, causing blood to pool in a patient’s legs.
The lab includes digital X-ray imaging systems and a range of other diagnostic tools that can view the arteries and blood flow. For example, the Siemens ARTIS icono biplane is an advanced imaging system used in endovascular procedures: minimally invasive catheter techniques used on arteries or veins.
Diagnosing Peripheral Vascular Conditions
Dr. Kifaieh noted that the hospital is conducting outreach for conditions such as peripheral vascular disease, an abnormal narrowing of the arteries, most commonly in the legs.
Chronic smokers, those with kidney disease or diabetes may disregard symptoms that could be treatable, he said.
“If you walk 100 feet and start having pain or cramping in your legs, (patients) might attribute that to arthritis or aging,” Dr. Kifaieh said, adding that the condition could actually be peripheral vascular disease, which can worsen over time.
The lab offers diagnostic testing and treatment to open the blood vessels, and the hospital launched a limb-saving education program for earlier diagnoses.
Dr. Kifaieh also looks forward to the lab’s stroke phase for acute stroke interventions, treatment of cerebral aneurysms and more.
While Hudson Regional already offered testing and procedures, he said, “now we have this to add a second and third layer of capability to the process.”