A RECOGNIZED TEAM OF HEART EXPERTS
For more information about the services and programs at
the International Heart Institute, call 406-329-5615 or visit
Montana.Providence.org/IHI.
INSIDE LOOK
Experienced specialists use advanced imaging to
guide heart surgeries
C
hances are, if you undergo a
complex heart procedure or
surgery at the International
Heart Institute (IHI) at
Providence St. Patrick Hospital, you
will need to have a transesophageal
echocardiogram, or TEE. This ultra-
sound gives cardiologists and surgeons
a detailed picture of the inside of the
heart. A few highly trained cardiologists
and cardiac anesthesiologists perform
these TEEs at IHI and are able to
capture incredibly detailed 2-D and
3-D images of the heart valves and
surrounding structures.
Jocelyn Spoon, MD, is the director
of the echocardiography department
at IHI. She trained and practiced
for many years at Mayo Clinic, and,
like many Montanans working away
from "home," when given the
opportunity to move back to Big Sky
Country, she jumped on it. "I grew up
in Missoula and wanted to be closer
to my family while giving back to the
community that helped raise me,"
she says.
'TEAMWORK IS ESSENTIAL'
Over the past decade, surgeries such
as aortic valve replacement and mitral
valve repair have become much less
invasive. If a person is unable to have
open-heart surgery, these interventions
may be performed through a small
tube, called a catheter, which is placed
in a blood vessel in the upper thigh
or groin area and threaded up to the
heart. The cardiologists and heart
surgeons at IHI rely on structural heart
imaging specialists like Dr. Spoon to
help guide these procedures.
"We will often have ve doctors, two
nurses and two cath lab technicians in
the room taking care of one patient
during these complex cases," says
Margarette Stearns, RN-BSN, CCRN, a
cardiac cath lab nurse. "Teamwork is
essential, and after you work with the
same folks in thousands of cases, it
becomes a well-choreographed dance."
IMAGING IN ACTION
The Watchman program at IHI, which
launched in 2016, is one example
where Dr. Spoon's expertise in structural
heart echocardiography has been
invaluable. The Watchman is a small
device implanted in the heart. It reduces
the risk for stroke in people who have
atrial brillation and who are unable to
take blood thinners. Atrial brillation,
a type of irregular heartbeat, increases
the risk for a stroke.
The standard for lowering stroke risk
is having patients take a blood thinner
such as warfarin, which prevents clots
from forming. Some people can't take
blood thinners, however—if they have a
history of bleeding or falling frequently,
for example. The Watchman is designed
for these patients.
The Watchman is placed into the
heart through a catheter. A combination
of live X-ray and TEE allows doctors
to view the heart in incredible detail
during placement.
Heart tissue forms over the Watchman,
and within just 45 days most patients can
stop taking their anticoagulant.
A FIRST IN MONTANA
More than 50 Watchman procedures
have been performed at IHI, including
the rst Watchman implant in Montana.
IHI is a beacon for Montanans who
would have to travel many miles to nd
the same state-of-the-art cardiac care
delivered by world-class professionals.
Jocelyn Spoon, MD, uses imaging to
improve the accuracy of minimally
invasive heart procedures at the
International Heart Institute.
M O N TA N A . P R O V I D E N C E . O R G
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