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within a 30-minute radius of Crouse Health, so if the activation goes out, we can get to the hospital quickly to meet patients when they arrive." Thanks to the skills of the interven- tional cardiologists and other members of the cardiac catheterization team, Crouse Health boasts rapid door-to-bal- loon times — from the time the patient arrives at the emergency room to the restoration of blood flow in an occluded artery using balloon angioplasty — that consistently exceed national bench- ma rks. According to Dr. Battaglia , Crouse Health's door-to-balloon time is approximately 50 minutes, which is significantly faster than the national goal of 90 minutes. In 2018, that achieve- ment helped Crouse Health earn the American Heart Association (AHA) M i ssion : L i fel i ne G old R eceiv i n g Quality Achievement Award for STEMI, the only hospital in the area to receive this designation. To perform most cardiac catheterizations, whether diagnostic or emergent, Drs. Battaglia, Ulahannan and George access the arterial system through the radial artery in the arm rather than the femoral artery in the groin, an approach with a variety of benefits for patients. "We perform more than 90 percent of cardiac catheterizations via the radial artery," Dr. Ulahannan says. "Using the radial artery causes less discomfort and carries a lower risk of bleeding- related complications at the point of access because the radial artery is smaller than the femoral. With the femoral approach, patients are bed-bound for two to four hours postprocedure, and for people with chronic back or neck pain, lying flat in a bed for that length of time is difficult. Patients who receive the radial approach can sit up immediately after the procedure and ambulate more quickly." COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY Interventiona l cardiolog y is just one component of Crouse Health's extensive cardiac care service profile. The team at Crouse Medical Practice Cardiolog y also offers a variety of diagnostic tests at the Miron Cardiac Care Center, including echocardiography — the Intersocieta l Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories awarded Crouse Health's echocardiography lab accreditation in Adult Transthoracic, Adult Transesophagea l and Adult Stress — cardiac MRI, cardiac CT, angiography and nuclear cardiology. "When we compare the results of our team's nuclear cardiology studies to what we find during procedures in the cardiac catheter- ization labs, we find the former to be extraordinarily accurate," Dr. Battaglia says. "The quality of their studies is impressive. That's true of the echocardiography department, as well. We know we can rely on the team there to obtain the information we need with a transthoracic or transesophageal study." Crouse Health features a robust electrophysiology program. Crouse Medical Practice Cardiology members Nikhil Joshi, MD, and Kwabena A . Boa hene, MD, FACC, perform a variety of procedures in the electrophysiolog y suite, including abla- tions to treat atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and supraventricular tachycardia. They also provide pacemaker and defibrillator implantations. The newest therapy in the electrophysiologists' repertoire is the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System. Approved as an alternative to conventional, single-chamber pacemakers for the treatment of bradycardia, Seamless Care for the Youngest Cardiac Patients THE DIA NE A ND Bob Miron Cardiac Care Center at Crouse Health is home to the area's only pediatric cardiac catheter- ization suite. There, pediatric cardiologists from Pediatric Cardiology Associates perform a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to treat children and teenagers with congenital heart defects and other cardiac conditions. "Our pediatric cardiologists work in the same center as the adult cardiologists of Crouse Medical Practice Cardiology, which allows for excellent collaboration as young patients grow into adults," says Seth Kronenberg, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Crouse Health. "Crouse Health is the only facility in the region that can provide comprehensive cardiac services from childhood to adulthood." Cardiac Catherization Lab Nurse Team 0 8❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y 0 8