Determining Factors
St. Vincent’s multidisciplinary care team conducts diagnostic tests to accurately determine:
-
Location of blocked arteries, heart structure, severity of your condition
-
Mitigating factors – age, lifestyle, overall health, medical conditions – affecting your condition
Once these diagnostic tests have been reviewed, our cardiac team will discuss options we recommend for your treatment.
Surgical Options
If the cardiac team recommends performing a coronary artery bypass graft, this involves creating detours around the area of blockage by using a vein taken from your leg (or another location in your body) to restore blood flow to the heart.
At St. Vincent’s, we perform minimally invasive techniques for endoscopic vein harvesting. This involves making small incisions to take veins to create a bypass around the diseased arteries.
Surgery needed to repair the arteries around the heart, in some cases, may be more comprehensive or complex than can be corrected through minimally invasive surgery. If this is the case, St. Vincent’s surgical team may recommend open-heart surgery to help to restore the flow of blood to your heart.
Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Once your surgery has been performed, you will be transferred to our intensive care unit (ICU) on the 8th floor. The ICU houses state-of-the-art equipment where our team, including our intensivist physicians, physician assistants, nurses and respiratory therapists will take constant care of you. They will monitor your vital signs and other vital bodily functions as you recover.
Cardiovascular Unit (CVU)
Once the cardiac surgery team determines that you no longer need to be monitored and cared for in the ICU, you will be transferred to the Step Down Unit, also known as Cardiovascular Unit (CVU). Most patients are transferred out of the ICU the day after surgery. Also located on the 8th floor, the CVU is where your heart will continue to be monitored. This is when you will become a more active participant in your recovery. The usual length of stay in the CVU is about 3-4 days.
Case Manager
After surgery, our managers will work with you and your family, as well as physicians, physical therapists, nurses and insurance companies, to develop a safe discharge plan. Your case manager will assess your progress and obtain approval for home care or rehabilitative services at the time of discharge, if needed. If you are discharged to a rehabilitative facility, the case manager associate will assist you with necessary paperwork or setting up transportation.