Dameron Hospital | Health Outlook | Spring 2018

Advances in heart and circulation care Dear friends and community members, As the weather warms up, it’s a good time to enjoy fun activities outdoors that get our bodies moving and our blood circulating. This issue of Health Outlook is all about how Dameron can help you with health issues that could prevent you from enjoying the active lifestyle you want to lead. To get moving, we rely on our circulatory system to power our muscles and organs. Blood vessels serve as our energy distribution system. When something stops blood from circulating, it can literally bring us to a crashing halt. A stroke is one of the most serious examples. While we can try to minimize our risks, strokes remain somewhat unpredictable—but even so, we can be prepared by identifying and treating a stroke as soon as possible to minimize the long-term effects it can have. Advances in stroke and cardiac care Here at Dameron, we deliver outstanding care for stroke patients both locally and through our participation in Stanford’s Stroke Interventional Radiology Service (SIRS) Rapid Access Program. Designed to treat certain patients with strokes caused by a blood clot in their brain, SIRS allows Dameron to quickly send stroke patients to Stanford’s Stroke Center for state-of-the-art care delivered by a multidisciplinary team of experts available 24/7. This works in conjunction with a stroke protocol we developed at Dameron that allows us to rapidly identify and begin treatment of all stroke patients locally. Blood clots can also create serious problems in other parts of the body. To quickly treat these types of clots, Dameron has acquired the state-of-the-art EKOS Acoustic Pulse Thrombolysis system. EKOS is a catheter-based system that delivers ultrasound waves in combination with clot-dissolving drugs to target the blood clot. This system helps clear the clot in nearly half the time with half the dose that was previously necessary. Sometimes keeping blood flowing properly means rerouting it around the problem area entirely. This is a common solution for blockages in the arteries of the heart, referred to as coronary artery bypass grafts. In this issue you’ll find one example of how Eric Keyser, MD, Medical Director of Dameron’s Stanford Cardiac Surgery Program, is performing these cardiac surgeries in new, innovative ways that have yielded excellent outcomes, sped up recovery times and saved lives. New! VenaSeal™ now available We are also introducing an innovative procedure for treating chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). With CVI, leg veins become unable to circulate blood back up to the heart, which can lead to varicose veins, swelling, leg fatigue and other complications. Dameron Hospital’s Pacific Heart and Vascular Cardiac Care Center is the first to offer treatment locally for CVI using the VenaSeal system. VenaSeal uses a safe, clinically effective adhesive to seal off the diseased section of the vein, which allows blood to be redirected to nearby healthy veins. This system minimizes discomfort, reduces recovery time and yields excellent results. In summary, we are here and ready to help keep you circulating. This reflects our commitment to helping people get their healthier lives back. All of us at Dameron believe that our patients deserve our very best—and we strive to deliver it to them every single day. Yours in health, Lorraine P. Auerbach President and CEO 2 HEALTH OUTLOOK Information in Health Outlook comes from a wide range of medical experts. Models may be used in photos and illustrations. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider. 2018 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. HEALTH CEO Corner WHAT IS HAPPENING AT DAMERON Lorraine P. Auerbach