By: Dr. Brian Flowers Cardiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic Birmingham Heart Clinic is now providing a new tool to allow patients to monitor their own health. This FREE app, called ChronicCareIQ, converts a patient’s smartphone into a powerful monitoring device which can effectively and conveniently communicate with health professionals at BHC. By simply answering a…
By: James Trimm, MD Interventional Cardiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic Birmingham Heart Clinic, in conjunction with St. Vincent’s East Hospital, is the first and only practice in Birmingham to use CO2 angiography in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease or PAD. Many patients with PAD have issues such as diabetes mellitus which can lead to…
By: Jason Thompson, MD Cardiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic Blood pressure is a measure of the pressure of the blood being pumped from the heart into the blood vessels. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, can be a problem because it causes the heart work harder to pump blood throughout the body. It also contributes…
By: Dr. Michael Bailey Electrophysiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic Birmingham Heart Clinic physicians are now utilizing a new approach to reduce atrial fibrillation stroke risk and eliminate the need for blood thinners over time. The WATCHMAN Implant is catheter-delivered heart implant that is light as a feather and small as a quarter. The one-time procedure…
By Dr. Jacob Townsend Interventional Cardiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic Physicians at Birmingham Heart Clinic are now utilizing the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure at St Vincent’s East. TAVR is a less-invasive approach to aortic valve implantation for patients considered high-risk or inoperable for traditional open-heart valve surgery. BHC cardiologists Drs. Jacob Townsend and…
By: Michael Simpson, MD Cardiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic September is National Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Awareness Month. One in 20 Americans over the age of 50 has PAD, and though it is a common and treatable disease, it is largely unknown, often unrecognized, and its symptoms are commonly attributed to old age. Peripheral arterial…
Physicians at Birmingham Heart Clinic (BHC), along with the team at St. Vincent’s East, worked together to earn a triple cardiovascular accreditation for St. Vincent’s East. The hospital is the first in the U.S. to meet the criteria for this “trifecta” of cardiovascular accreditation which includes cycle five (most recent standards) for chest pain with…
By: Dr. Robert E. Foster Director, BHC Vein Center The Birmingham Heart Clinic Vein Center diagnoses and treats venous disease with minimally invasive procedures, resulting in less pain and quicker recovery for patients. Our goal is to quickly return patients back to a functional, painless lifestyle. What is venous disease? About 40 million Americans suffer…
By: Dr. Robert Foster Interventional Cardiologist at Birmingham Heart Clinic The Vein Center at Birmingham Heart Clinic diagnoses and treats venous disease with minimally-invasive procedures, resulting in less pain and quicker recoveries for patients. What is venous disease? About 15 percent of people in America have venous disease, which is caused by diseased or abnormal…