HEALTHYU

A strong beat

BY KATI BLOCKER, UCHEALTH
Dr. Russell Heath performs an atrial fibrillation ablation with CARTO mapping system, assisted by Brett Shreve, electrophysiology nurse.

Cardiovascular program on pace to be largest in state

The cardiovascular program at University of Colorado Health's Heart Center is in line to be the largest program in the state.

"Our vision for this program is to continue to provide cutting-edge, new procedures for our patients locally," said Dr. Todd Whitsitt, cardiologist and program chairman. "I think the growth, outreach and physician commitment has helped this program provide services locally that most other communities our size don't get to enjoy

"The types and numbers of procedures we are doing here are usually reserved for larger academic hospitals," he added. "Our residents have access to them in their own communities."

During the past three years, the cardiovascular program has seen its surgery numbers increase — from 290 in 2012 to 335 in 2013 and 436 in 2014. It's on pace to conduct about 450 this year, said Rob Wagner, program director for northern Colorado.

Part of that success, he said, is that the program has 20 cardiologists, four electrophysiologists, five cardiothoracic surgeons and 12 nurse practitioners who see patients in 17 locations across northern Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. In 2014, those clinics treated approximately 64,000 patients.

"While most cardiac programs are seeing volume decreases, ours has increased," Wagner said. "It's because our physicians have spent the past 30 years building these outreach relationships. They keep this care in the community, and I think the community appreciates that."

The program's volume and the specialty procedures it provides — such as TAVR, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement — allows it to compete on a much higher scale and with larger hospitals, such as that of Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, he said.

For example, patients who undergo a TAVR procedure get a multi-physician heart-valve team consisting of two interventional cardiologists, two cardiac surgeons and an additional cardiologist specializing in ultrasound of the heart. That team works together to place the collapsible artificial valve into the heart of a patient through a catheter — and the patient doesn't have to travel any farther than Medical Center of the Rockies' Heart Valve Clinic.

Although the program is strong in northern Colorado, Whitsitt and Wagner know it can be even stronger.

One goal is to move toward population health management. This effort includes prevention, readmission avoidance strategies and promotion of healthy lifestyles in their communities, he said. One of their successful initiatives is the Healthy Hearts Program.

"About 23 percent of elementary students we've screened through Healthy Hearts have borderline or high cholesterol, and about the same percent are overweight or obese," Wagner said. "Through this program, we screen about 5,000 kids a year and provide resources for these families, including Fitbits and nutritional education."

The program consists of about 15 educators who visit fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms for three consecutive days. Each day, they use a 45-minute session to cover topics such as heart anatomy, cholesterol, nutrition, exercise and tobacco avoidance.
At the end, the students know about good and bad cholesterol, they know how much exercise they should get and are given materials to help them bring that information home.

"We do a pre- and post-education test with the kids to gauge their knowledge gain," said Meghan Willis, one of the Healthy Hearts educators. "We also do three- and six-month follow-up surveys to see if they're retaining the information and using it to make healthy choices in their lives. Our data shows that after Healthy Hearts educates them, the kids are making positive, longlasting changes, such as cutting back on sugary foods and drinks and getting more physical activity."

It's all part of the cardiovascular program's mission of advancing care, research and prevention, Wagner said.