Agnesian

Today more and more people realize the value of healthy living. Paying attention to your body now can mean fewer medical problems down the road. Agnesian HealthCare offers educational programs through its Journeys: a health resource center, including heart-healthy living and heart care. The center also offers a free "drop-in" library featuring the most up-to-date healthcare information available. Agnesian HealthCare also extends its educational resources to special health fairs and other events designed to help prevent illness and injury,

To help our staff better recognize how your heart is working, our Medical Imaging technologists can produce a highly accurate view of a patient's heart and arterial system via nuclear medicine or ultrasound procedures. Tests performed will depend on the patient's symptoms and the physician's recommendations. These services are available at St. Agnes Hospital, Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital.

No cardiac treatment would be complete without the proper testing. Ours is a state-of-the-art testing center, for patients recovering from heart disorders, or people with suspected heart troubles. Conditions can be evaluated before surgery, before beginning an exercise program or as a check before leaving the hospital. Advanced testing begins with advanced instruments. This means the latest electrocardiograms (ECGs), cardiac stress testing, holter monitoring and event recorders are available at St. Agnes Hospital and Waupun Memorial Hospital.

During your time of emergency, Agnesian HealthCare is ready to help with skilled, caring professionals and the most advanced technology available. Our Emergency Department serves as your first line of defense when an emergency occurs with advanced equipment and instruments to monitor cardiac conditions and vital signs.

Along with monitoring devices to measure ECGs, heart and pulmonary functions, and head and artery pressure levels, the Intensive Care Units at both St. Agnes Hospital, Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital offer a caring staff that is ACLS-certified and CPR-trained. And, our board-certified intensivists are available 24 hours a day at St. Agnes Hospital to closely follow a patient's care after open-heart surgery. If your heart condition requires extensive monitoring, our team approach to telemetry helps provide

For patients who have been diagnosed with symptoms of heart disease, cardiologists will sometimes prescribe a cardiac catheterization procedure to determine more precisely how well a patient's heart is working. Using state-of-the-art digital technology, Agnesian HealthCare's new Cardiac Catheterization/Vascular Laboratory at St. Agnes Hospital provides physicians with a clear, close-up view of the heart muscle and heart arteries.

Procedures such as angioplasty, stent placements, carotid angiography, permanent pacemaker insertion, pulmonary angiography and non-vascular interventional radiology are performed by a team of specially-trained cardiologists, radiologic technologists, cardiac vascular technologists and registered nurses.

After a balloon angioplasty and stent placements, if a patient has blockage in a difficult location, or multiple blockages, then open-heart surgery is needed. This surgical procedure helps to restore blood flow to the heart. The surgeon uses blood vessels to go around and "bypass" the blocked arteries.

No question, heart attacks and heart disease are serious concerns. The good news is more and more people are making full recoveries and leading normal lives. What makes the difference is what kind of rehabilitation they receive. Agnesian HealthCare professionals at St. Agnes Hospital, Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital help heart patients make a complete transition to a healthy lifestyle.

We start with simple exercises to get the heart back to work. Then, as rehabilitation continues, patient educators discuss lifestyle changes that may be necessary to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

A pacemaker's job is to make sure your heart is beating "on schedule." There is a way to find out - quickly and accurately - just how well that vital device is working. Agnesian HealthCare's Pacemaker Clinic at St. Agnes Hospital allows patients to check vital pacemaker functions. With just one phone call, heart rhythms are transmitted directly to the Pacemaker Clinic for analysis. If the ECG shows any problems, we immediately call a physician. Anyone who uses a pacemaker can utilize this service. Simply contact your personal physician for a referral.