World-class Heart Care
In years past, it wasn’t uncommon for patients to leave South Florida
in search of world-class heart care. In September 2006, that changed when
Boca Raton Regional Hospital opened the Christine E. Lynn Heart &
Vascular Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
The hospital recruited renowned surgeons, handpicked top cardiovascular
specialists and nurses from around the region, and invested in leading-edge
facilities. Every aspect of the institute was carefully conceived, from
the most basic processes to the most detailed procedures, to ensure world-class
heart care from day one.
Today, that interdisciplinary team is working together, right here in Boca
Raton, with extraordinary results. They have successfully performed several
thousand cardiac catheterizations and hundreds of open-heart surgeries.
This exceptional level of care provides South Florida residents with the
critical treatment they need, close to their homes, physicians, family
and friends.
Our Team
Achieving outstanding patient outcomes requires an outstanding cardiovascular
team. Lynn Heart & Vascular Institute has assembled world-class personnel
at every level - from the region’s top cardiologists and surgeons,
to the area’s most experienced cardiovascular nurses.
Advanced Arrhythmia Center
To provide world-class heart care, you can never rest on your accomplishments.
Which is why we opened the Advanced Arrhythmia Center at Lynn Heart &
Vascular Institute. Here you’ll find a state-of-the-art electrophysiology
lab, leading-edge technology as well as board certified cardiac electrophysiologists,
cardiovascular surgeons and interventional cardiologists. This multidisciplinary
team works together to offer a full spectrum of sophisticated invasive
and non-invasive procedures including: diagnosis and treatment of cardiac
rhythm disorders, catheter ablation and cutting-edge mini-maze surgery
for treatment of atrial fibrillation. In fact, they are among a select
few in the region that offer the mini-maze procedure - another reason
to choose Lynn Heart & Vascular Institute.
State-of-the-art atrial fibrillation treatment
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heart rhythm caused by abnormal
electrical impulses. According to the American Heart Association, atrial
fibrillation affects about 2.2 million Americans. During atrial fibrillation,
the heart’s two small upper chambers (the atria) quiver instead
of beating effectively. Because blood isn’t pumped completely out
of the chambers, it may pool and clot. When these clots leave the heart
and become lodged in an artery in the brain, a stroke results. In the
past, atrial fibrillation was typically treated with medications, electrical
cardioversion, radiofrequency ablation or major open-heart surgery.
At the Advanced Arrhythmia Center at the Lynn Heart & Vascular Institute,
surgeons and electrophysiologists are working as a team to perform mini-maze
surgery, a groundbreaking new treatment. Using a tiny instrument, they
burn lines in the heart to isolate and destroy a small amount of tissue
near the source of the irregular impulses. Because the damaged tissue
can no longer conduct electrical signals, the impulse transmissions are
interrupted. Sophisticated intraoperative testing also localizes nerves
innervating the atrium which contribute to the initiation of atrial fibrillation.
These nerves are then ablated as well. With the abnormal signals unable
to cross the zone of defense, the atria resumes beating normally.
Mini-maze is performed using minimally invasive devices with the aid of
a miniature camera, or video telescope, so physicians can operate without
making large incisions in the chest. Patients usually return to normal
activity more quickly after the procedure and have much less pain than
with the traditional approach. Patients also tend to stay in the hospital
for a shorter amount of time and have a faster recovery period than those
who have conventional surgery.
Diagnostic imaging — a clear advantage
Providing world-class heart care begins with a clear picture of the patient’s
condition and an accurate diagnosis. The diagnostic imaging center at
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the region’s largest and our technology
is among the most advanced in the world. The radiologists reading patient
results are nationally renowned, fellowship-trained and board certified.
This combination of extraordinary equipment and experienced eyes provides
our patients and their physicians with the most accurate information possible
information that saves lives.