Patients in Southeastern Connecticut with heart valve disorders now have direct access to the state’s top structural heart team right in the community.
In December, Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute’s (HVI) Structural Heart Disease Program providers began seeing patients at the HVI offices at 111 Salem Turnpike in Norwich.
Patients with disorders such as aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation can see the Structural Heart team providers including clinical cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, echo-cardiologists, radiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons and advanced practitioners. They receive consult, follow-up care and diagnostic testing locally and are connected to Hartford Hospital for more advanced procedures if necessary.
(In the photo above: HVI Structural Heart Program Manager Lauren Curtis, Dr. Immad Sadiq and Ericka Cotto, who see patients with structural heart issues at 111 Salem Turnpike in Norwich.)
“The addition of the Structural Heart Clinic in Norwich is part of the overall vision of the Heart & Vascular Institute,” said Howard Haronian, Chief Medical Director and Vice President of the Heart & Vascular Institute in the East Region and the Institute’s Chief Quality & Innovation Officer. “Whether it’s the addition electrophysiology, advanced heart failure and vascular surgical providers or expanding cardiac testing and imaging at our ambulatory sites, we are focused on providing the very best specialty and subspecialty care and diagnostics to our patients as conveniently as possible. And, if they need advanced surgical care, they are seamlessly connected to the top cardiac surgical center in the state.”
Structural Heart team providers see patients one Friday each month in Norwich.
“Along with giving patients access to the very best structural heart care, the addition of the clinic in Norwich is a big patient satisfier. In the past, patients would have to drive to Hartford for consultations and follow-up. Now, that can all be done locally” said Dr. Talhat Azemi, an interventional cardiologist, who is one of the team members who is seeing patients at the new Structural Heart Clinic in Norwich.
To learn more, visit www.hartfordhealthcare.org/heart