RICHMOND, Va. -- Dr. Greg Hundley, a cardiologist and director of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center, the top rated heart center in Virginia, shared how VCU Health is expanding access to complex heart care in Central Virginia.
I've heard that there are some exciting developments that are happening at the center. Can you give us an idea of what's going on?
We're very excited. VCU Health and the Pauley Heart Center have announced the groundbreaking that's taking place for our Pauley Pavilion, that's going to be in Scotts Addition right off Interstate 95. It's a facility that allows us to take care of complex cardiovascular problems, but do this in the outpatient setting rather than necessarily having to have an inpatient hospital admission.
Why is it so important to increase access to complex cardiovascular care?
Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 1 in 3 deaths, whether due to heart attack, stroke or the progression of heart failure. A lot of patients have multiple risk factors – so we have hypertension, diabetes, perhaps obesity, smoking; and then on top of that, have cardiovascular disease. So, we need a facility that can actually help address all of those components. Not only diagnose and treat, but also educate patients and their families on the disease process so that they can make meaningful changes in their lifestyle to reduce the risk of those heart attacks, strokes, and progression of heart failure.
Tell us a bit more about the Pavilion and some of the features that folks will see.
This will be a first of its kind really, in the whole state of Virginia. It's combining procedural facilities – so those are cath labs where you might have a device put in, like a pacemaker, or something like that. You might have an ablation procedure. It also has advanced diagnostic equipment, MRI scanning and CT scanning. CT is going to allow us to look at the arteries going to the heart muscle, and maybe not have to have a heart catheterization. It's going to have pharmaceutical and other therapeutic components that go along with a beautiful set of rooms so providers can meet with you during your patient visit.
You're going to notice changes in the patient visit room – the doctor will have a screen on the wall where they can show you your disease process. And one other feature is really critical – it will have a cardiac rehab facility, an indoor track with equipment, so if you have cardiovascular disease, you can go and participate in supervised, therapeutic rehab so that you can improve your overall outcome.
What are some other benefits to patients?
This is going to be a community engagement site. Members of the community are going to be able to come to this. There's education space, so individuals can learn about their disease process and meet with experts.
It's not all just doctors and nurses. It'll be dieticians. It'll be those involved in exercise, which can be very helpful in cardiovascular disease. And importantly, that access touch point, I think is critical. While nested in Scott's Addition, right next to Interstate 95, those that are driving have great access, but there's also bus stop. Our GRTC colleagues are able to bring you right to the front door.
