St. John's First in Four States to Offer Revolutionary New Coronary Imaging
Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) Technology Is Now Available
JOPLIN, MO November 7, 2006 – St. John’s Regional MedicalCenter announced today that itis now offering the Coronary Computed Tomography 
Angiography or CCTA procedure on its new, state-of-the-art, 64-slice CT imaging system. St. John’s is the first hospital in the region to offer this innovative way for its physicians to obtain the information they need to diagnose cardiovascular disease, stroke and chest pain. This system provides a fast, minimally invasive, 3-D image for physicians to detect and diagnose problems with the heart.
St. John’s physicians are now able to capture images of a beating heart in more than twice the speed of conventional multi-slice CT scanners. This speed is especially helpful in shortening breath holds for geriatric patients, patients who are on ventilators and pediatric patients. Called the 5 Beat Cardiac - it allows the physicians at St. John’s to capture images of the whole heart and coronary arteries in just five heartbeats.
“We’re proud to be the first to offer this new technology to the community. Our new Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography allows our physicians to perform new and enhanced procedures, and obtain the information they need to diagnose patients who are suffering from chest pain or stroke,” said Debbie Linnes, President and CEO. “CCTA provides the latest technology in heart imagery with faster and less invasive scans. This reduces patient stress and anxiety during the process.”
In a single rotation, the 64-slice CT creates high-resolution anatomical images as thin as a credit card. These images are combined to form a three-dimensional view of the patient’s anatomy for the physicians at
St. John’s to analyze. From these images, physicians can view such things as blockages in the coronary arteries, as well as the motion and pumping action of a patient’s heart.
“We’re breaking barriers in speed and accuracy of patient exams and are now able to offer new and enhanced diagnostic procedures thanks to our new 64-slice Cardiovascular CT scan,” stated Dr. Joseph Graham, Cardiovascular Surgeon. “The technology is greatly benefiting both the physicians and patients of the four-states. By providing improved imaging of the heart we can better determine treatment options for our patients.” “For many people, the cardiac (or 64-slice) CT scan will be an accurate way to look at their heart with much less pain and cost than our current tests. In a matter of seconds, we can take thousands of pictures of the heart, and then the person is on their way home,” commented Dr. James Hoff, Cardiologist.
About St. John’s Regional Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Program
St. John’s Cardiovascular program celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. Since 1981, over 105,085 cath lab procedures and cardiac interventions have been performed at the hospital. The cardiovascular surgical team has performed over 10,000 Open Heart surgeries. St. John’s was just named a 2006 Top 100 Heart Hospital for Cardiovascular Care by Solucient, the leading source of healthcare business intelligence.