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chest pain and syncopy to arrhythmias and heart attacks, while a host of programs such as cardiac rehabilitation and support groups continue to make it an integral part of the local healthcare community. Ja me s N. S emer t z ide s , M D, h a s witnessed the process unfold and has played a key role as a respected community cardiologist. After choosing a noninva- sive specialty that would allow him to pursue his passion for working closely with patients, he eventua lly formed a practice aliated solely with Brookhaven. "That's where we wanted to send our patients," he says. "That was our decision, and to this day we recognize it was the right thing to do. Our oce is a stone's throw from the hospital, enhancing care coordination for patients. In addition, the hospital has added interventional cardiology capabilities, and now we are adding fellowship-trained interventional- ists from Winthrop-University Hospital to take advantage of those capabilities." A mong these physicia ns is Waqa s Khan, MD, cardiologist at Brookhaven. He performed his residency at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, after work- ing in cardiolog y in Pakistan. He later completed a general cardiology fellowship followed by a year of training in inter- ventional cardiology. Dr. Khan went on to direct the cardiac catheterization lab but was limited to diagnostic services, as Brookhaven was still obtaining certifica- tion from the state of New York. "Patients were traveling significant distances to have certain procedures," he points out. "They wanted their fami- lies to be able to visit them more often. We performed our first intervention at Brookhaven in December 2013." "When Brookhaven Memorial Hospital a nd Wi nt h rop-Un iversit y Hospit a l aliated, they had a lot of potential for growth," says Richard Schwartz, DO, FACC, Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab at Brookhaven and Medical Director of Transcatheter Va lve Replacement at Winthrop-University Hospital. "I was drawn to the program because they were very eager to get their interventiona l program started. Winthrop-University Hospital came in as a partner, with my role being to provide quality assurance and help obtain state certification." Now, Dr. Schwartz says, patients need not travel away from their local hospi- tal for care during a heart attack or to undergo an interventional procedure. The generous donors and administration of Brookhaven made it possible to institute a comprehensive, high-quality program. At the same time, Winthrop-University Hospital receives any patient transported for more specialized care. At Brookhaven, in addition to round- the-clock cardiology stang, the Cardiac Care program has added electrophysi- olog y capability, more catheterization labs, numerous physicians and cardiac rehabilitation. Door-to-ba lloon time for patients with myocardial infarction stands at 60 minutes, below the national average. And from only 18 cases a year initia lly, physicians with the Cardiac Care program now see about 1,350 cases annually, Dr. Schwartz says, illustrating that the program is addressing a strong local need for these services. INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY A key component of the program, inter- vent iona l ca rd iolog y i ncludes bot h elective and emergency services. " We treat any patient who presents with acute myocardial infarction, and our mortality is comparable to or lower than that of any hospita l in New York state," Dr. Schwartz says. "For patients in ca rdiogenic shock, we ca n place a percutaneous ventricular assist device until they can be transported to a hospital that can oer a long-term solution. We can perform any procedure that does not require surgical backup, and those that do are rare." Cardiac catheterization is a two-step process, Dr. K ha n ex pla ins. First , a patient experiencing chest pain receives an angiogram to revea l any blockage. From there, the physician may decide a significant blockage warrants heart bypass surgery. However, often the prob- lem can be corrected by the placement of stents. " Ti me is muscle," Dr. K ha n says. "When arteries are 100 percent closed, the muscles relying on those arteries to supply them with blood begin to die. Ea rly inter vention ca n save patients either by preventing them from dying immediately of a heart attack or from suering heart failure in the long run, By the Numbers: The Knapp Cardiac Care Center + 60,000 square feet + Four cath labs + Four operating suites + 25 cardiologists on staff + An investment of more than $60 million Brandon Schepps and Maria Eisner, nuclear medical technologists, imaging a patient with a nuclear camera PHOTO © PAUL MOORE, PAUL MOORE STUDIO 0 7 M D N E W S .C O M /// M D N E W S L O N G I S L A N D ■ 2 017