Though many risk factors for heart disease are controllable—like smoking and high blood pressure—age is not. In fact, 40 percent of deaths among people ages 64 to 74 are due to heart disease or stroke, and that figure increases to 60 percent for those 85 and older, according to the National Institute on Aging. For that reason, it’s important to get the best care for your heart as you get older.

That’s where Advocate Health Care can help. Our heart specialists are dedicated to providing patients with the very best in heart care, including the most advanced treatments and technology. Here are three of the latest cardiac care techniques available.

Less-invasive heart surgery
Heart surgery with a smaller incision is now possible, thanks to robotic surgery. Surgeons at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn perform a variety of heart procedures using robotic surgery. Covered by Medicare, the most common uses are to repair leaky mitral valves and correct atrial septal defects, says Pat Pappas, M.D., a cardiac surgeon at Christ Medical Center. “We hope to begin replacing aortic and mitral valves over the next six months.”

With the patient under general anesthetic, a two-inch incision is made in the chest, and a tiny camera with two smaller robotic arms is inserted into the incision.

“The surgeon guides the surgery from a console about 10 feet away where three-dimensional images are viewed,” Dr. Pappas explains. “This technique gives surgeons greater visibility and precision.”

Though it’s not right for every patient—including those who have had prior heart surgery—the robotic method may offer several benefits over traditional surgery. A lower risk of complications, a faster recovery and less pain are among the most important. In fact, says Dr. Pappas, a third of patients go home the day after surgery.

Off-pump heart surgery
Doctors at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge have pioneered a new, safer alternative to open heart surgery called off-pump coronary artery bypass, or OPCAB, which is covered by Medicare. In traditional open-heart surgery, the heart stops and the patient is connected to a heart-lung machine during surgery to keep the blood circulating throughout the body.

During OPCAB, the bypass is performed while the heart is beating. “Drugs and stabilizers hold part of the heart still so we can operate while the rest of the heart continues beating,” explains Janice Klich, M.D., a cardiac surgeon at Lutheran General Hospital and one of the most experienced OPCAB surgeons in the Chicago area.

“With OPCAB there is less bleeding, patients are alert earlier in their recovery and their hospital stays are shortened, since they can be removed from the respirator sooner,” says Dr. Klich. Plus, maintaining the patient’s heartbeat gives greater protection to the lungs, kidneys and other organs during surgery, lowering the risk of complications like kidney failure and stroke.

Bypass surgery
While they remain on the leading edge of cardiac care, Advocate doctors at Christ Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital, Illinois Masonic Medical Center and Lutheran General Hospital also are highly skilled in the more widely used procedures, including coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG). Covered by Medicare, CABG restores normal blood flow to the heart in patients who have blockages in multiple veins.

“In CABG, surgeons take a healthy vein or artery from the arm, leg or chest and use it to re-route blood around a blockage, rather than fix the blockage itself,” explains John Grieco, M.D., a staff cardiothoracic surgeon at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. “The procedure is effective in eliminating angina or severe chest pain. Afterward, most seniors can get back to a normal life.”

Advocate is expanding
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington is opening a new Cardiac Care Center that will offer a full range of cardiac diagnostics and treatments.

Opening in Spring 2005, the center will offer open-heart surgery, non-invasive stress testing via cardiac catheterization and coronary artery angioplasty.