Heart specialists in Southern New Hampshire

We aim to positively impact your quality of life with our advanced cardiac care.

At Catholic Medical Center Physicians, our cardiologists and heart surgeons diagnose and treat a variety of conditions. We can assess your cardiovascular symptoms and provide a personalized care plan that supports your long-term health goals.

Heart conditions we treat

Our primary care providers, cardiologists and endocrinologists collaborate to address a wide range of cardiovascular conditions, including:

  • Atrial fibrillation (AFib)
  • Cardiac tumors
  • Congenital heart disease
  • Coronary artery disease (CAD)
  • Coronary heart disease
  • High cholesterol
  • Thoracic-aortic diseases
  • Valve diseases

Heart disease care

Our multidisciplinary team of medical professionals aim to help reduce your cardiovascular risk and enhance your overall health. We offer care for those looking to decrease their chances of developing or worsening heart disease.

Cardiometabolic risk factors

Cardiometabolic risk refers to the likelihood of experiencing a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, due to one or more cardiovascular risk factors. It also applies to individuals with established heart disease who continue to remain at risk.

Many cardiometabolic risk factors are controllable and may even be reversible. However, there are several factors that can increase the likelihood of heart disease, heart attack and stroke, including:

  • Calcium buildup and thickening in the vessels
  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Increased age
  • Inability to tolerate coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
  • Inflammation
  • Obesity
  • Peripheral vascular disease (PVD)
  • Physical inactivity
  • Poor diet
  • Smoking

Heart disease symptoms

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women worldwide, and is usually caused when plaque builds up in the arteries or blood vessels that connect to the heart. Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly lower your risk and prevent the progression of cardiovascular issues, such as heart disease.

Although symptoms may vary from person to person, some symptoms of heart disease include:

  • Chest pain or tightness
  • Pain in the jaw, neck or throat
  • Pain or numbness in the arms or legs
  • Shortness of breath

It is important to note that some of these symptoms may also be a sign of a heart attack. If you think someone is having a heart attack, call 911 immediately.

Diagnosing heart disease

Our cardiac team is available 24/7 to perform interventional cardiology for those experiencing heart attack or cardiac arrest. Most procedures, including heart function tests, are completed through a small, hollow tube called a catheter, which is placed in your artery and guided to the diseased area by our interventional cardiology team.

Types of heart disease treatment

Our cardiovascular specialists work to treat heart disease through a range of surgical and nonsurgical services, including:

  • Heart and vascular surgery
  • Lifestyle change recommendations
  • Medications

We also offer interventional cardiology as a minimally invasive treatment for heart disease, using transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) to treat certain valve conditions.

If your condition is particularly complex, we also offer highly specialized treatments, such as intravascular lithotripsy.

Atherectomy

We use this minimally invasive procedure to remove plaque from a coronary artery, inserting a catheter into one of the blood vessels, and following it with an angioplasty or stent. Typically, we will keep you overnight after an atherectomy and release you to go home the following day.

Chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention (CTO PCI)

Our surgeons use CTO PCI to treat a 100% blockage in one of your coronary arteries. This severe plaque buildup occurs over time as part of a condition called atherosclerosis. Left untreated, the blockage may cause significant chest discomfort, shortness of breath, lower quality of life and potentially decrease heart function.

CTO PCI is a complex procedure that utilizes similar catheters through the wrist or groin artery. It differs from routine PCI in that, often, two catheters are placed in two different locations. If we decide this procedure it right for you, you can expect it to take an average of three to four hours, with overnight monitoring to follow.

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) high risk PCI

When your heart needs additional support during angioplasty or stenting, one of our cardiologists may decide to use an LVAD. They may use this device to increases your heart’s ability to move blood throughout your body during the high risk PCI procedure.

LVAD high risk atherectomy

In this type of atherectomy, an LVAD is used by your surgeon. This allows for a greater cardiac output if you have a weaker heart and helps your heart pump blood more effectively. We may recommend an LVAD implant while you wait for the opportunity to schedule a more complex procedure, such as a heart transplant.

Heart care specialists

Cardiometabolic medicine applies a unique, multidisciplinary approach to heart disease care, with providers in our program having extensive experience in managing cardiovascular risk, diabetes and cholesterol.

When appropriate, we partner with other specialists to further reduce your risk of a cardiac event. These professionals may include:

  • Endocrinologists
  • Exercise physiologists
  • Nutritionists
  • Sleep medicine
  • Vascular surgeons
  • Weight loss

Before visiting one of our locations that offers services for heart disease, please view our health forms.