Charles Kanakis, M.D., a cardiologist at Lutheran General Hospital, offers these tips for choosing a program. Look at the numbers. Like everything else, practice is important when it comes to heart surgery. When considering surgeons and hospitals for open heart surgery, find out how many procedures they've performed. For example, Lutheran General Hospital performed more than 450 open heart surgeries in 1996.
Volume is also important when it comes to angioplasties.
The more angioplasties performed by a doctor, the lower the complication rates, according to a recent study in the medical journal Circulation . Look for things like a skilled, friendly nursing staff and a cardiac rehabilitation program right at the hospital. Find out whether the program offers the latest technology. Teaching hospitals, like Lutheran General, are involved in research that may offer patients the option of trying new medications and procedures before they are available to others. These programs also may have cardiologists and surgeons with higher levels of experience.