Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States — but it’s not really a single disease. Many different disorders can affect your heart and blood vessels. We treat all of them.

This is a weakening in the wall of your aorta, the large artery that carries blood to your body. If the aorta ruptures or tears open, it may cause life-threatening bleeding.

Your carotid arteries carry blood from your heart to your brain. There’s one artery on each side of your neck. Over time, plaque can build up in the arteries, narrowing them and restricting blood flow. This may lead to a stroke.

Coronary artery disease occurs when the vessels that supply your heart with blood become narrowed with plaque. This may restrict blood flow and lead to a heart attack.

Heart failure occurs when your heart becomes unable to pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs. It may cause your heart to enlarge and cause blood to back up into your lungs and other areas.

PAD is a narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to your limbs, especially your legs. It may cause pain when walking, and eventually, even at rest. In serious cases it may cause ulcers that become infected and ultimately lead to amputation.

Your heart has four valves that are responsible for moving blood through the organ. Sometimes these valves have abnormalities or become damaged. As a result, blood flow is impaired, and your heart is forced to work harder.

Varicose veins are veins that become twisted and enlarged near the surface of your skin. Usually they appear in your legs. They don’t always cause symptoms, but they can lead to pain, swelling of your feet and ankles, itching and skin ulcers.

At Providence, we offer a full spectrum of services to prevent, diagnose and treat heart and vascular problems.

We have several options for treating arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms:

• Cardiac ablation is a procedure that creates a scar on the area of your heart where your arrhythmia originates. Doctors use either heat or cold to cause the scarring. It’s usually delivered by a thin tube called a catheter that’s inserted through a blood vessel and threaded to your heart. The scarring interferes with your heart’s electrical signals, stopping the arrhythmia.
• Implantable defibrillators help correct dangerous heart rhythms that can lead to death. We use a surgical procedure to place the device under your collarbone.
• A leadless pacemaker is a small device that we place directly in your heart’s right ventricle. It may help certain people with slow heart rhythms.
  The Maze procedure is a type of surgery that can correct atrial fibrillation. This is a common disorder that occurs in your heart’s upper chambers, the atria, beat erratically. It can lead to a stroke. The procedure involves creating scar tissue in your atria with radio waves. This can create normal electrical impulses along a new pathway in the heart.

Cardiac rehab is designed for people who’ve had a recent heart issue, such as a heart attack, heart surgery or heart procedure. It helps you learn how to manage your risk factors and make lifestyle choices that promote heart health. A supervised exercise plan is also part of the program. For more information, call 425-261-3780.

The CardioMems heart failure system allows us to monitor pressure readings in your pulmonary artery remotely. We do this with a small device we place directly in your artery with a cardiac catheterization procedure. The system helps us detect worsening heart failure before you ever have symptoms. We then can make changes to your treatment plan to keep you out of the hospital.

Our Center for Diagnostic Cardiology is located on our Colby campus. We perform many different heart tests there that can tell us about your heart health.
Tests we commonly do include:

• Cardiac catheterization is an X-ray study of your heart that takes place in our cardiac catheterization lab. During the procedure, a doctor inserts a thin tube called a catheter into a blood vessel and threads it to your heart. The catheter may enable doctors to do a number of tests that evaluate the chambers of your heart as well as your arteries and heart valves. Treatment for certain heart problems can also take place in the cath lab.
• Cardiac CT takes multiple X-rays of your heart and puts them together to create three-dimensional images. Sometimes we use a special dye to make things easier to see. This test can help us evaluate your heart’s aorta, valves, arteries and more.
• Cardiac MRI creates pictures of your heart with radio waves, magnets, a computer and sometimes, a special dye. It can help identify heart problems and give doctors more information if another test finds abnormalities.
• An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create pictures of your heart. It can tell doctors about your heart’s size, structure, movement and valve function. A transthoracic echocardiogram is done with a probe that emits soundwaves that’s placed over your chest or abdomen. We can also do a transesophageal echocardiogram. This is a similar test that uses a special probe we place down your esophagus. It gives us a clearer picture of the heart than a traditional echo.
• An electrocardiogram is a painless test that evaluates the electrical activity of your heart. It uses electrodes attached to your chest, arms and legs.
• Electrophysiology testing looks at the electrical activity of your heart when you have an abnormal heart rhythm, or arrhythmia. The test involves threading a thin, plastic tube called a catheter through a blood vessel to your heart. A doctor will then send electrical impulses through the catheter to make your heartbeat at different speeds. The signals produced by your heart will help the doctor determine where your abnormal heart rhythm is coming from to determine which treatment is best.
• A nuclear stress test uses a radioactive material to evaluate blood flow in your heart at rest and while you’re exercising. This can tell us if you have heart disease. 

We offer outpatient services to diagnose and treat all types of heart diseases. General cardiology focuses on evaluating, monitoring and managing heart patients with medication, risk factor reduction and lifestyle.

Interventional cardiology uses catheter-based treatment to address heart and vascular problems. It may be used in place of surgery.

In some cases, surgery may be your best treatment option. We offer some of the most advanced heart surgeries available.

TCAR is a treatment for blocked carotid arteries performed by vascular surgeons. These are arteries in your neck that carry blood to your brain. It reduces the risk of stroke that exists when tiny mesh tubes called stents are placed into the arteries to help keep them open.

Interventional cardiology uses catheter-based treatments. These treatments allow us to reach your heart with special tools through your blood vessels. Procedures we perform at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett include:

Atherectomy is a procedure that opens a narrowed artery by removing the plaque causing the blockage. Doctors use a special catheter that either cuts, shaves or grinds away the plaque.

A CTO is a complete blockage of a coronary artery. It can cause pain, shortness of breath, fatigue and other symptoms. In the past, using a catheter to clear these blockages was very difficult, so doctors often performed surgery instead. Newer techniques that are less invasive than surgery are now very effective. 

An LVAD is a type of pump that can temporarily help your heart work better if you’re in end-stage heart failure. Using a catheter, we can place certain LVADs without surgery.

A PFO is a hole in the wall of tissue between the upper chambers of your heart, which are known as your atria. It’s a common condition that develops after birth. In most people, it doesn’t cause problems, even though blood may leak from your right atrium to your left. However, if there’s a blood clot in that blood, there’s a chance it will travel to your brain and cause a stroke. Using a catheter threaded through your blood vessels, doctors can place a device that will close the PFO to reduce your stroke risk.

PCI uses a thin, plastic tube called a catheter with a tiny balloon on its tip. With X-ray guidance, doctors thread the catheter through a blood vessel to a narrowed heart artery. When they inflate the balloon, it compresses the plaque. They then place a tiny mesh-like tube called a sent into the artery to hold it open. The procedure makes it easier for blood to flow.

TAVR is a procedure used to replace a severely narrowed aortic valve. When this valve is narrowed, it’s hard for blood to get to the rest of your body. The procedure involves delivering a new valve to your aortic valve via a catheter that’s threaded through a blood vessel. Once it’s in the right spot, doctors inflate a balloon on the catheter. It pushes the new valve into place in your existing valve. It makes it easier for blood to get to the rest of your body.

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a condition in which your heart’s upper chambers beat irregularly. It raises the risk that a clot will form, make its way to your brain and cause a stroke. By blocking the left atrial appendage with an LAAO, we greatly reduce the risk of clots. We can do this with surgery or by placing an implant that closes off the appendage.

When needed, surgery can help your heart work more efficiently. Surgeries we commonly perform include:

• Bypass surgery. During bypass surgery, we remove a healthy blood vessel from your leg, arm or chest wall. We then relocate it in your heart so that it allows blood to flow around, or bypass, a blockage. This may eliminate chest pain and lower your risk of having a heart attack.
• Valve surgery. Your heart valves direct blood flow between your heart’s chambers. When they’re working correctly, you can think of them as one-way doors. They keep blood moving like it should. If a valve isn’t working properly, however, we may need to repair it or replace it. A new valve can come from an animal or a human donor. We also have mechanical valves. 

Here at Providence, we can do mitral valve replacement with a minimally invasive procedure that uses smaller incisions than traditional surgery. It’s usually much easier on you.

If you have surgery, you’ll benefit from our dedicated Heart Surgical ICU unit and Cardiac Surgery Single Stay Unit 

Acting fast is crucial when you’re having a heart attack. If you have heart attack symptoms or recognize them in someone else, call 911 right away. Do not drive yourself to the hospital.
Heart attack warning signs include:

• Chest discomfort in the center of your chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. This sign is more common in men. The discomfort may feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Pain or pressure in the upper abdomen or back, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting and extreme fatigue are typical signs of a heart attack for women. Women may or may not experience the chest pressure that many people associate with a heart attack.
• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, your back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath before, or along with, chest discomfort.
• Nausea, lightheadedness or breaking out in a cold sweat.

Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your heart health and your overall health. We can help.