One of medicine’s most powerful truths is that you can’t fix what you can’t see. This is especially true when it comes to your heart, a complex, four-chambered pump that is responsible for keeping you alive.

When something goes wrong in your heart, whether it’s an irregular heartbeat or a leaky valve, providers need a crystal clear picture before they decide how best to help.

The Power of Advanced Cardiac Imaging

One key addition to the toolkit for FirstHealth’s heart program is remarkable advances in cardiac imaging. The availability of high-tech heart scans can reveal every curve, chamber and problem that could be hiding in your chest.

For patients, cardiac imaging is a true game-changer. It helps make treatments safer, more precise and individually customized for each person.

And for two groundbreaking procedures – WATCHMAN and MitraClip – cardiac imaging is quite literally the hero behind the scenes. 

Recent advances have taken cardiac imaging from a diagnostic tool to a strategic guide for personalized treatment and long-term care management.

To have all of this happening at Reid Heart Center is truly special and demonstrates FirstHealth’s commitment to providing exceptional, state-of-the-art care.

A WATCHMAN for Your Heart

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a common heart rhythm disorder that causes the heart’s upper chambers to quiver instead of beating steadily. This can cause blood to pool in a small pouch of the heart called the left atrial appendage (LAA), where clots can form and lead to stroke. While many patients take blood thinners to reduce this risk, they aren’t suitable for everyone.

The WATCHMAN device offers an alternative.  This small, umbrella-like implant seals off the LAA to prevent clots from escaping. Because every heart is different, precise sizing and placement are critical to ensure a safe, effective fit.

How Imaging Powers WATCHMAN Precision

Cardiac imaging plays a key role in planning the procedure. A transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) uses an ultrasound probe in the esophagus to get a close-up view of the heart, while CT scans create detailed 3D images to guide placement. Together, these tools help ensure the device fits securely and reduces stroke risk

Fixing a Leaky Valve Without Open-Heart Surgery

Cardiac imaging is also essential for treating mitral regurgitation, a condition where the mitral valve doesn’t close properly, allowing blood to flow backward.  This can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath and heart failure.  While surgery was once the primary treatment, it isn’t always an option for higher-risk patients.

How Imaging Guides MitraClip Placement

The MitraClip offers a minimally invasive alternative. Delivered through a catheter, the MitraClip “clips” the  valve leaflets together to reduce leakage. Many patients go home the next day feeling dramatically better. Imaging, especially TEE, helps determine the severity and location of the leak and ensures the valve is suitable for the procedure. Advanced 3D echocardiography provides detailed, real-time views, allowing physicians to plan and guide placement with precision. It’s like Google Maps, but for your heart.

Why Cardiac Imaging Matters for Everyone

Beyond procedures like WATCHMAN and MitraClip, cardiac imaging plays a vital role in detecting heart disease early.  It can detect blockages before a heart attack, identify weak spots in the heart muscle,  and uncover hidden valve problems, while also guiding complex procedures.  

FirstHealth is also using an AI-enhanced imaging platform, in collaboration with Cleerly, to identify and analyze plaque within the coronary arteries. Using FDA-cleared, AI-based algorithms applied to coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans, this technology provides a detailed assessment of coronary artery disease, which is the root cause of most heart attacks, and helps tailor care to each patient’s unique cardiovascular profile.

Advanced Cardiac MRI

Cardiac MRI provides highly detailed images of the heart’s structure, function and blood flow to help diagnose cardiac conditions and prior heart damage.  At FirstHealth, we also offer stress cardiac MRI, a more specialized test that evaluates blood flow to the heart during exertion.  This allows for earlier, more precise detection of coronary artery disease and more confident treatment options.  Offering cardiac MRI, including stress cardiac MRI, outside of large academic medical centers is uncommon and reflects our commitment to bringing advanced, specialized care closer to home.

The evolution of cardiac imaging has created a new era of heart care. If your provider recommends cardiac imaging, don’t think of it as just another test, but a pathway to safer, more personalized care.  To learn more, visit www.firsthealth.org/heart.