TIFTON, GA – The Heart and Vascular Center at Tift Regional Medical Center (TRMC) has recently begun offering a “radial lounge” for heart catheterization patients to recover in a comfortable and relaxing environment.
A heart catheterization is a procedure to examine how well the heart is working. A thin, hollow tube is inserted into a large blood vessel that leads to the heart to identify problems and allows for procedures to open blocked arteries. Previously, the catheter was inserted through the groin area, but a new “radial” technique allows the catheter to be inserted through the wrist.
Although a heart catheterization is an outpatient procedure, patients are required to recover for a few hours afterward in the Heart and Vascular Center. The new radial lounge at TRMC allows patients to recover in a comfortable environment and in a reclining chair rather than a hospital bed.
A recent heart catheterization patient at TRMC enjoyed the new radial lounge to recover. “I really enjoyed the lounge at the Heart and Vascular Center. The recliner had a massager that helped me relax before and after the procedure. It also helped me feel more at ease since I wasn’t sitting on a hospital bed. This was actually a much more pleasant experience than I expected,” states Norma Kringle of Norman Park.
Dr. Paul Murray, FACC, looks forward to the positive results the radial lounge will provide patients. Dr. Murray explains, “It is important to allow our patients to recover in a more therapeutic and relaxing environment rather than a hospital bed. The radial access technique also allows for a more comfortable procedure all around with proven less serious bleeding complications.”
Drs. William Hancock, FACC and Jonathan Tronolone, FACC, also perform the radial catheterization procedure at TRMC in the Heart and Vascular Center. Other services offered through the TRMC Heart and Vascular Center includes non-invasive diagnostic services, nuclear medicine, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), pacemaker insertion, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, and vascular care and procedures.
For more information about the radial lounge or the TRMC Heart and Vascular Center, visit www.tiftregional.com or call (229) 353-7120.
