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The Heart Hospital of New Mexico is dedicated to one goal: the very best heart care available for New Mexico and the region. The heart hospital resulted from the shared vision of the New Mexico Heart Institute (NMHI) and Southwest Cardiology Associates (SWCA), the same talented cardiovascular physician groups that pioneered New Mexico's leading heart programs. This uniquely designed hospital provides comprehensive, cost-effective, physician-directed and patient-centered care. In 2002, NMHI and SWCA merged under the New Mexico Heart Institute name, and today, the Heart Hospital is owned by partners MedCath and NMHI.

Within the Heart Hospital, doctors work together with teams of specialized nurses and technicians to provide compassionate, quality care to patients and their families. The facility is designed for efficiency, with the following features:

• A Hospitalist team consisting of several physicians board certified in Internal Medicine as well as midlevel providers, all belonging to the Milagro Medical Group, PC. They will focus on, manage and coordinate your care much the same way your primary care physician would. The Hospitalist team will assist your cardiologist in managing medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disease, osteoporosis, high cholesterol, peptic ulcer disease, cancer and any other non-cardiac related problem.
• A hospitality-rich environment includes all private rooms for the comfort and convenience of patients and their families.
• Nurses carry wireless phones, making them directly accessible to patients and physicians.
• All 55 patient rooms have been designed to function at every level of care, dramatically reducing patient transfer within the hospital setting.
• 24-hour visitation and sleeper beds for family members encourage loved ones to be involved in recovery and rehabilitation.
• Comprehensive education for patients and their family members results in a greater understanding of heart disease, the recovery process and future homecare needs.
• A pet therapy program with licensed volunteers who visit the hospital on a regular basis, offering support and cheer to our patients and their families.
• A therapeutic music program offering harp and Native American flute, the C.A.R.E. (Continuous Ambient Relaxation Environment) Channel for patient viewing, and relaxing music through headphones during surgery all provide a positive effect on the body as well as the mind and emotions.

The Heart Hospital’s diagnostic imaging department provides quick and convenient diagnostic testing for inpatients and outpatients. Patients are transported to the unit on an “on time” basis, eliminating the uncomfortable wait that is typical in a conventional hospital setting. The full-service department offers:

• Conventional radiology and x-ray
• General and cardiac nuclear medicine imaging
• General and cardiac spiral CT imaging
• State of the art echocardiography and vascular imaging
• Stress testing
• Diagnostic ultrasound
• HeartScan CT

Located on the first floor adjacent to the emergency department and the operating suites, four digital catheterization labs are accessible for cardiac medical situations. These labs include:

• Technology to yield high resolution images of a patient’s heart and coronary arteries
• Specialized labs for electrophysiology and peripheral vascular procedures

The Heart Hospital’s Heart Emergency Center utilizes the American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines for diagnosing and treating chest pain. The Heart Emergency Center focuses on minimizing the time between a patient’s arrival and the start of treatment. All 7 emergency rooms are self-contained and private.

Day beds are available for patients scheduled for routine, diagnostic heart catheterizations or special maintenance procedures, such as a generator change for pacemakers. This unit is located near the emergency department and the catheterization labs, and all ten rooms are equipped to deliver every level of care.

The Heart Hospital’s three identical operating suites were designed specifically for cardiovascular and thoracic surgery by our nationally recognized physicians, and include the following features:

• Significantly more space to comfortably accommodate the staff and specialized equipment necessary for cardiovascular surgery
• Easy accessibility from the emergency and day patient areas, as well as inpatient rooms