Hospital to open cardiac catherization lab in mid-April

Dyersburg Regional Medical Center anticipates opening its heart catherization lab in mid-April. Cardiologists will use the equipment to look for blockages within the heart's blood vessels. At this point, the cath lab is primarily a diagnostic tool, but someday, it could be used for balloon angioplasty and placing stents to keep the blood vessels open. [Click to enlarge]

The lab will be used for diagnostic procedures to determine whether a patient's blood vessels around the heart are blocked.

Dr. Louis Cunningham, the cath lab medical director, said the diagnostic procedure will target persons who are at risk for a heart attack but have not yet experienced one.

Dr. Tommy Miller and Dr. Louis Cunningham recently opened a cardiology clinic in the Dyersburg Professional Center on Parr Avenue. [Click to enlarge]

"We're going to be using it to make diagnoses," he said.

During a cardiac catherization, the patient is sedated and an intravenous tube is threaded through a blood vessel from the groin to the heart. Dye drips into the circulatory system and the dye's path can be traced by an X-ray camera. The images show any occlusions, or narrowing of the coronary arteries. These blockages may cause heart attacks if they are left untreated.

"It is the most accurate test for diagnosing heart disease," Cunningham said. The procedure very precisely documents the number and location of each blockage.

Cath labs also may be used to treat arterial blockages through balloon angioplasty or the insertion of arterial stents. However, these procedures won't be done at DRMC - at least not for a while.

Hospital Chief Executive Officer Greg Lowe said balloon angioplasty and stents are the next step, but many other factors must be in place before the hospital considers taking that step. For now, patients with blockages will be sent to hospitals in Jackson or Memphis.

Dyersburg Regional Medical Center spent about $5 million constructing and equipping the new 6,000-square-foot cath lab. The lab is located in the spot where the emergency room used to be. It includes one fully equipped, lead-lined procedure room, four pre- and post-procedure patient bays and a second procedure room that could, one day, also hold heart catherization equipment. The lab is expected to open in mid-April.

Lowe was excited about the cath lab's possibilities. He said it helps to round out the services available to a wide range of patients. Persons over the age of 65, those who have diabetes and those with heart problems are all potential patients for the cath lab.

Hospitals traditionally have six key service lines, Lowe explained. These include: cardiac services, orthopedic services, general surgery, neurosciences and the spine, oncology, and maternal and fetal medicine. Lowe said the hospital did a lot of work on orthopedic services last year and is focusing this year on cardiac services, the last of the six major service lines to be incorporated here.

To run the cath lab, DRMC partnered with two cardiologists from the Mid-South Heart Center in Jackson. Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Tommy Miller will be the cardiologists on staff for the hospital and will consult with patients here.

The men opened a cardiology clinic in the Dyersburg Professional Center, 1716 Parr Ave., Suite C, on March 2. They provide carotid ultrasounds and measure blood flow in the legs, in their office as well. Robin Hall, Mid-South Heart Center administrator, said doctors have learned that patients who have blood vessel blockages in one place (such as the heart, neck or legs) are likely to have blockages elsewhere. Angioplasty and stents in the legs may open up blood flow in the legs and bring almost immediate improvement, she said.

Cunningham, a native of Jackson, earned his undergraduate degree from Lane College and his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville. He completed his internal medicine and some residency training at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, La. He finished his residency at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville, where he also served as chief resident of internal medicine and then went on to complete his cardiology fellowship at Harlem Hospital in New York City in 1987.

He returned to Jackson to be closer to his family and founded the Mid-South Heart Center in 1993. He has since added clinics in Bolivar, Camden, Parsons, and now, Dyersburg.

Cunningham is a board-certified specialist in the field of cardiovascular diseases, a fellow in the American College of Cardiology, and a mentor to Lane College students.

Miller grew up in Brownsville. He attended the University of California in Davis, Calif., and continued his graduate work at California State University in Carson, Calif., and Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Penn. Miller earned his medical degree at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and completed his residency and a cardiology fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Va. Miller completed an interventional cardiology fellowship at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center in Camden, N.J.

Miller joined the medical staff of Mid-South Heart Center in January 2007 and now joins the active medical staff at Dyersburg Regional Medical Center.

The cardiologists' office may be reached by calling 288-3389.