Heart care centers in Virginia

Cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists at HCA Virginia’s hospitals are proud to maintain one of America's leading heart programs. It is comprised of a broad network of doctors and inpatient and outpatient facilities — all achieving some of the best patient outcomes in the country. We accomplish this by providing effective routine care, accurate diagnoses and specialized treatment for conditions of the cardiovascular system.

For more information about our heart and vascular services or for help finding a heart specialist, call our free, 24/7 Consult-A-Nurse® line.

Advanced cardiovascular care

Our cardiologists and vascular specialists are committed to getting you back to optimal heart health. We do this by connecting you to advanced and accredited facilities, innovative technologies and customized health plans.

Levinson Heart Institute at Chippenham Hospital was Virginia's first heart hospital when it opened in 2003 and cares for more hearts, veins, and arteries than any other health system in Central Virginia.

Accredited Chest Pain Centers

Many of HCA Virginia's hospitals are Accredited Chest Pain Centers and have been awarded by Healthgrades as Five-Star Recipients for a variety of heart treatments. This means they can offer you skilled, effective care when you need it most.

Cardiac catheterization laboratories (cath labs)

Our cardiac cath labs are equipped with the latest monitoring and imaging equipment and staffed by experienced cardiovascular teams who perform thousands of procedures each year. We offer a full range of catheterization services for accurately diagnosing and treating cardiac conditions 24 hours a day. Both our inpatient and outpatient cath labs use advanced technology, allowing for extreme precision in catheter and stent placement.

Heart conditions we treat

We are experienced at treating all kinds of heart conditions—from the most common to the most complex—in children and adults, including:

  • Acute coronary syndrome (ACS)
  • Atherosclerosis (disease of the blood vessels)
  • Congenital heart disease
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Chest pain (angina)
  • Heart arrhythmia
  • Heart attack
  • Heart failure
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
  • Peripheral vascular disease
  • Stroke
  • Valve disease
  • Varicose veins

Cardiac arrest

Cardiac arrest is not a heart attack. Whereas a heart attack relates to an interruption in the blood flow, cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. However, the source of cardiac arrest is an arrhythmia (an irregular beating pattern of the heart), typically ventricular fibrillation.

Sudden cardiac arrest can occur at any age, in someone of any gender or race—regardless of lifestyle. It can strike individuals who are in "perfect" fitness, even world-class athletes.

Cardiac arrest treatments

Pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and subcutaneous ICDs (S-ICDs) are implantable devices to treat cardiac arrest. These devices use electrical impulses to stimulate the heart, however:

  • Pacemakers help control an abnormally slow heart rhythm by sending small electrical pulses to the heart if it is beating too slowly.
  • ICD devices send electric shocks to the heart when a dangerously fast heartbeat is detected, to restore a normal heart rhythm, and are designed to prevent cardiac arrest.
If you think someone is having a heart attack, call 911 immediately.

Chest pain

Chest pain can be a symptom of something minor or something life-threatening. This makes it very important to take chest pain seriously, and seek medical care to get an accurate diagnosis.

There is no way to accurately self-diagnose what is causing your chest pain. Seek help as soon as possible if you experience:

  • Aching in your chest or arms that spreads to your neck, jaw or back
  • Lightheadedness or sudden dizziness
  • Pressure, tightness or a squeezing in your chest
  • Shortness of breath

Heart disease

Also known as cardiovascular disease, heart disease includes conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels. This can significantly increase your chances of a stroke or serious heart problems.

Heart disease symptoms

Symptoms of cardiovascular disease vary between men and women. Men commonly experience chest pain while women are more likely to experience nausea, shortness of breath and extreme fatigue.

Heart disease treatment

Although treatment for heart disease varies depending on your individual condition, typical heart disease treatment includes:

  • Lifestyle changes — eating a low-fat, low-sodium diet, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise almost every day
  • Medications — to control your type or symptoms of heart disease
  • Surgery — to control and repair the damage to your heart

Other heart conditions we treat

We are experts in caring for problems of the heart, including:

Take The Free Heart Health Quiz

Cardiovascular diagnostics

We use a full range of advanced cardiac screening and imaging tools to quickly and accurately pinpoint the extent and cause of the problem. We apply this level of care to all our screening and diagnostic services, emphasizing the importance of early detection.

Non-surgical cardiovascular treatments

We offer convenient options for outpatient cardiovascular treatment. This includes Coumadin Centers (to help manage your warfarin medication) and physical therapy for heart health at a variety of our locations. We also provide many outpatient and educational lifestyle services to help you heal and lead a healthier life.

Additionally, we provide enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP). This advanced, noninvasive outpatient treatment can help with symptoms of certain heart issues, such as angina and heart failure. Currently, EECP is available at HCA Virginia’s John Randolph Medical Center.

Surgical cardiovascular treatments

Our surgeons lead the field in the area of minimally invasive cardiac surgical procedures. This allows patients to recover much sooner and with less pain and scarring.

Some of the surgical treatments we offer include:

  • Cardiothoracic procedures
  • Carotid artery surgery
  • Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
  • Convergent maze procedure
  • Cox maze procedure
  • Mitral valve replacement
  • Peripheral artery bypass
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
  • Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR)
  • Ventricular assist device (VAD)

Cardiac rehabilitation

If you have a cardiac event, such as a heart attack, stenting, surgery or stable angina, your doctor may recommend cardiac rehabilitation to help you recover. Our heart rehabilitation program and dedicated staff will support you and your family as you adjust to life after your cardiac event.

You may also benefit from cardiac rehabilitation if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or lifestyle-related conditions, such as obesity or high stress levels.

Cardiovascular research and clinical trials

HCA Virginia participates in a number of ongoing cardiovascular research projects and clinical trials through the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. If you qualify, these projects offer you access to new treatments before they are widely available. They also give you the opportunity to contribute to medical research that can help yourself and others.

To learn more about these and other clinical research trial options, talk to your HCA Virginia doctor.