MGH: Among the Nation's Best - Marion General Hospital

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There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive,central and mixed.OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA, the most common,is caused by a blockage of the airway, usuallywhen the soft tissue in the rear of the throatcollapses during sleep.CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA, so called because itrelates to the function of the central nervoussystem, occurs when the airway is not blockedbut the brain fails to signal the muscles tobreathe because of instability in the respiratorycontrol center.MIXED OR COMPLEX SLEEP APNEA, as thename implies, is a combination of obstructiveand central.❋ The Sleep StudyIf you suspect you may have sleep apnea, discussit with your primary care physician. Your physicianmay suggest you undergo a sleep study orpolysomnogram at a sleep lab. The test monitorsyour brain waves, heartbeat and breathing asyou sleep. It also records your eye and leg movementsas well as muscle tension.• During a sleep study, sensors that send tiny electrical signalsto a computer are placed on your head, face, chest andlegs. Those electric signals become data that are analyzed bya qualified physician to determine whether you have sleepapnea or any other sleep disorder. You will not feel any painduring the study. The sensors are placed gently on your skinand connected to a computer. The wires are long enough tolet you move around and turn over in bed.MGH HasSolutionsMarion General Hospital has anew sleep lab, convenientlylocated at 1387 N. Baldwin Ave.,which can help diagnose sleepapnea and other sleep disorders.Corey Mettler, MGH sleeplab manager, knows the advantages that continuous positive airwaypressure, or CPAP, offers patients. “Many patients have told me it’s thebest thing that has ever happened to them,” he says. “They can onceagain function throughout the day without taking naps or falling asleepat inappropriate times.”MGH’s warm and inviting sleep study rooms have been designed foryour comfort, complete with queen-size beds; flat-screen televisionswith remote; large, puffy pillows; fans; private bathrooms; and hotel-likedecor—all the comforts of home when away from home.• A technician will run a short check on the quality of thesignals prior to starting the study. The lights are then turnedout and you will be asked to try to fall asleep. An infraredvideo camera allows a technologist to see you and recordyour activity from a nearby room during the test, which usuallytakes place overnight. Daytime studies are available forshift workers.• If your initial results show a significant amount of sleepdisordered breathing, you will be asked to return for a secondstudy where continuous positive airwaypressure, or CPAP, will be used. During thisphase, you will wear a nasal mask that deliversincreased air pressure into your airway in anattempt to open the airway and alleviate yourproblematic breathing.Can you remember the last time you feltfully rested? When your head hits the pillowat MGH, the final objective is for you to sleeplike never before.MGH’s sleep study rooms include queen-size beds, flat-screen televisions, largepillows, fans, private bathrooms and hotel-like decor.Need to Sleep?Don’t let your sleep apnea gountreated. Your life may depend on it.Ask your physician to schedule your sleepstudy today by calling 866-363-7535.callvim & vigor · fall 2009 5
Everything you need—close to home, family and friends6ExpertCardiacCareBy Melo-Dee Perez, M.S., R.N.Did you know Marion General Hospital offersexpert interventional cardiac care close to home? The samelevel of care and expertise offered in bigger cities, at largerhospitals, is available in Marion. Now you can be close to yourfamily and friends and avoid the problems associated withtraveling out of town.Experienced MGH cardiologists and interventional cardiologistsfrom Care Group Cardiology in Indianapolis, as wellas registered nurses and registered radiology technicians,perform the following procedures in state-of-the-art, totallydigital cardiac catheterization/electrophysiology labs.Cardiac Catheterization❋What it is: The insertion of a flexible tube into the coronaryarteries. MGH and its staff have performed more than 4,000of these procedures.❋What it does: Dye is injected through the tube to illuminatethe arteries under X-ray to show narrowing or blockage.❋ Procedure time: Less than 1 hour.❋ Required stay: 1-4 hours of bed rest.Coronary Angioplasty andStent Placement❋What it is: If a cardiac catheterization shows a narrowingor blockage, these may be able to open the artery.Depending on the location and size of the blockage, one orboth procedures may be done. These procedures often aredone right after the cardiac cath.❋What it does: Both use catheters similar to a cardiac cath.Angioplasty uses a balloon-tipped catheter to inflate andwiden the artery. A stent (a mesh tube that is collapsed overthe catheter) is used to hold open an artery that has beenwidened by angioplasty and requires further support. Whenvim & vigor • fall 2009the balloon is inflated, the stent expands, locks in place andforms a scaffold. The stent stays in the artery permanentlywhen the balloon-tipped catheter is deflated and removed.❋ Procedure time: Varies.❋ Required stay: Overnight.Electrophysiology Studies❋What it is: Monitors your heart rhythm from inside theheart with special equipment. A specially trained cardiologist,or electrophysiologist, performs the test.❋What it does: Any changes that are induced or triggeredduring the test are studied to determine the exact causeand what can be done to control it.❋ Procedure time: 1-2 hours.❋ Required stay: A few hours to overnight.Pacemaker Insertion❋What it is: A small electronic device that is permanentlyplaced inside your body.❋What it does: Monitors your heart rhythm. When thedevice detects a slow heart rate, it sends electrical signalsto speed the heartbeat.❋ Procedure time: 1-2 hours.❋ Required stay: Overnight.Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator❋What it is: ICD for short, it’s like a pacemaker with extrafeatures.❋What it does: If the heart’s rhythm becomes too fast ortoo slow, the device sends out pacing impulses or brieflyshocks the heart to allow it to return to a normal rhythm.❋ Procedure time: 1-2 hours.❋ Required stay: Overnight.Biventricular ICD❋What it is: A treatment option that may decrease heartfailure symptoms when your heart is weakened anddoesn’t pump as well as it should.❋What it does: Helps a weakened heart to maintain a healthyheartbeat and assists the heart in pumping more effectively.❋ Procedure time: 2-4 hours.❋ Required stay: Overnight.At MGH, we pride ourselves in offering patients invasivecardiac procedures close to home, family and friends.We have the quality and expertise needed to provide ourHealthcare Community with the highest level of cardiac carethat is only a heartbeat away.
Page 4 and 5: Life in GeneralRisk Manager Receive
Page 8: Meet MGH’s Cardiac ExpertsGary A.
Page 11 and 12: By Randy DeffenbaughEnsuring YourSa
Page 13 and 14: MGHStays in theTop TierBack-to-back
Page 15 and 16: Volunteer Services54Looking Back on
Page 17 and 18: Community ConnectionsAugust to Octo

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