Center of Excellence

Asiri Heart Centres - Asiri Surgical


Center of Excellence

Asiri Heart Centres - Asiri Surgical


The Asiri Heart Centres are among a few facilities in the nation with cutting-edge capabilities for acute cardiovascular disease diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. Our Cardiac Centres, which are located in Asiri Surgical Hospital, Asiri Central Hospital and Asiri Hospital Kandy, guarantee high quality clinical treatment and the best possible patient outcomes.

The Asiri Health Cardiac Care Programme offers a comprehensive suite of diagnostic and treatment facilities including both non-invasive and invasive diagnostic facilities such as cardiac catheterization and angiography, along with a wide range of interventional cardiac and vascular procedures.

At Each Heart Centre, we utilize state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and cutting-edge technology sourced globally. Combined with the expertise of our multidisciplinary team of well experienced, highly skilled medical professionals, we provide unwavering support throughout your cardiac journey, from diagnosis to treatment and rehabilitation.


Our Services & Treatments

Cardiac emergencies are among the most time sensitive. This is why our Cardiac Catheterization Labs and Operating Theaters are available around the clock, while our surgical team is always on standby to respond to cardiac emergencies such as:

  • Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)
  • Cardiac arrythmias

We treat patients from across the nation for a wide range of complex heart conditions including the following.

  • Acute Coronary syndrome
  • Endocarditis (Heart Infection)
  • Cardiomyopathy (Heart Muscle Disease)
  • Aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection
  • Pericardial effusion/ Tamponades (Collection of fluid around the heart)
  • Lung conditions secondary to heart disease
  • Heart conditions in pregnancy
  • Syncope (Fainting) due to heart rhythm problems

Cardiac Surgery

  • Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG)
  • Heart valve repair and replacement
  • Surgeries of thoracic aorta

Interventional Cardiac Procedures

  • Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) (Stenting)
  • ASD closure
  • Electrophysiological interventions
    • Pacemaker Implantation Defibrillator (AICD)
    • Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation
    • Ablation for other rhythm issues of the heart
  • Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI)

Invasive Diagnostics

  • Coronary Angiogram
  • Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)
  • Electrophysiological study

Non-invasive Diagnostics

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Echocardiogram
  • Treadmill Test (Stress test)
  • Holter Monitoring
  • Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
  • Angiogram (X-ray of blood vessels)
  • Nuclear perfusion scan

Cardiac ScreeningView More

Rehabilitation Services

Asiri Heart Centres have a dedicated team of clinical psychologists, lifestyle modification specialists, highly trained physiotherapists and a developing cardiac rehabilitation programme.



Why choose an Asiri Heart Centre?

  • Our Cardiac Program utilizes cutting-edge catheterization laboratories at Asiri Surgical & Central Hospitals and Asiri Hospital Kandy.
  • Our dedicated nursing teams are specialised in post-surgical cardiac care, post-pacemaker insertion and monitoring of patients who have undergone angioplasty, stent placement or heart attacks.
  • Each Cardiac Centre maintains a higher staff-to-patient ratio to ensure that each patient and their family receive adequate assistance for long-term health. This guarantees a high level of care, including assistance with lifestyle modification which may be necessary for recovery.
  • The Asiri Heart Care programme is likely the only one in the country where patients receive individualized care for the long-term management of their heart conditions from a multidisciplinary team of physical therapists, occupational therapists and wound care specialists, based on their specific needs.
  • The Asiri Heart Programme includes 3600 community outreach initiative to educate the public on the value of a balanced lifestyle and routine screening to reduce the incidence of heart disease or risk of a critical heart emergency.
  • 20 Coronary Care Beds
  • 40 Cardiac ward Rooms
  • 4 Cardiac Operation Theatres
  • 10 Cardiac Channeling Rooms
  • 16 Cardio–Thoracic Surgical Intensive Care Beds
  • 3 State of the art Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories
  • 2 Sate of the art fully computerized Heart Care Centres
  • 2 Cardiac Investigation (Tread mill / Exercise ECG, ECHO) Laboratories

Our Achievements

The Asiri Surgical Heart Centre very proudly provides free heart surgery for disadvantaged kids. This initiative, which began in 2011, has given 146 children with congenital heart disease new hope for leading normal lives, by providing free heart surgery and follow-up care.


About Heart Disease

What to do if chest pain is experienced

    Call for an ambulance if the pain is:
  • New or severe.
  • Occurs with shortness of breath.
  • Lasts longer than 5 minutes.
  • Worsens with physical activity.

It's best not to take any risks, as some heart attacks may not present with typical chest pain.

Many delay seeking help for a heart attack. If symptoms are experienced don't wait – prompt medical attention can prevent further heart damage or even death.

What are the other causes of chest pain?

  • Heartburn, acid reflux, ulcers
  • Heart problems other than a heart attack
  • Lung problems e.g. pneumonia
  • Panic disorder or depression

Symptoms

  • Chest pain or discomfort (pressure, tightness, or squeezing)
  • Pain radiating to shoulder, arm, neck, jaw, teeth and upper abdomen
  • Pain gradually increases and lasts more than a few seconds
  • Shortness of breath
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Sweating
  • Abnormal awareness of heartbeat
  • Lightheadedness/ fainting
  • Feeling tired

What happens when the hospital is reached?

When a heart attack is suspected, an ECG is done, and blood is drawn to look for cardiac enzymes. Oral medications are administered to relieve chest pain and prevent new blood clots.

Treatment for heart attacks involves medication and may include medical therapy or early cardiac catheterization.

If a blockage is found, percutaneous coronary intervention (stenting) may be done and if not, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) may be an option.

What is Angina?

Angina is chest pain or discomfort caused by reduced blood flow to the heart muscle due to the narrowing or partial blockage of coronary arteries.

Angina and heart attack often have the same cause, but angina is a temporary condition.

It is a sign of heart disease and can be treated with lifestyle changes, medication, medical procedures, and surgery to reduce the risk of complications.

When might an attack of Angina be experienced?

  • Climbing stairs
  • Lifting heavy things
  • Stress
  • Eating a large meal at once
  • Sexual intercourse
  • Exercise

What should be done?

  • Prescribed medication must be taken, and blood pressure & blood cholesterol monitored.
  • Quit smoking.
  • Healthy meals that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, sodium (salt) and added sugars.
  • Relaxation techniques and stress management employed.
  • Consult a doctor & physiotherapist to determine the best physical activity for your condition.
  • Notify your doctor if there are changes in your angina symptoms, such as experiencing angina while resting or if it becomes more severe.

Symptoms of heart failure usually develop over time, as the heart becomes weaker and less able to pump the blood the body needs. Heart failure usually results in enlarged heart walls.

What are the signs of heart failure?

  • Shortness of breath, especially on lying down
  • Suddenly waking up from sleep gasping for breath
  • Fatigue
  • Coughing or wheezing, especially on exertion or lying down
  • Swelling in ankles and legs
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness

Causes of heart failure

  • Hypertension
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Obesity
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Smoking
  • High cholesterol
  • Alcohol or drug abuse
  • Past heart attack or other heart conditions

Heart failure is a life-long condition but can be managed. Getting good medical care and following a treatment plan will help have the best quality of life.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition where the pressure in the arteries is higher than it should be.

High blood pressure is usually asymptomatic (80% of the time) but may cause headaches, light headedness, dizziness and fainting when severe.

It increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Hence it is important to have one’s blood pressure checked regularly and to follow a doctor’s advice.

Are you at higher risk of developing hypertension?

    These are the main contributing factors,
  • Smoking cigarettes
  • Diabetes
  • Being obese
  • High cholesterol
  • Unhealthy diet
  • Physical inactivity
  • Family history of high blood pressure
  • Race/ ethnicity
  • Increasing age
  • Gender (males)
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Obstructive sleep apnea

What to do about high blood pressure?

  • Stop smoking
  • Reach and maintain a healthy weight
  • Eat a healthy diet that is low in saturated and trans fats and rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Aim to consume less than a quarter of a teaspoon of salt per day.
  • Limit alcohol
  • Be more physically active
  • Follow medication prescribed by a doctor
  • Know your ideal blood pressure and maintain it at that level

Arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm. It could be so brief that it doesn’t change the heart rate. Or it can cause the heart rate to be too slow or too fast.

An electrical impulse is what starts each heartbeat. An abnormal heart rhythm happens when those impulses don’t fire at the right time.

  • Bradycardia is when the heart rate is too slow
  • Tachycardia is when the heart rate is too fast

Symptoms of Arrythmia

When it’s very brief, an arrhythmia can have almost no symptoms. It can feel like a skipped heartbeat which is barely noticed.

  • It may also feel like fluttering in the chest or neck.
  • Tiredness, lightheaded or may make one pass out. It can also cause death.
Bradycardia Tachycardia
fatigue, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting or near-fainting. shortness of breath, chest pain, light headedness or loss of consciousness.
If severe, it can also cause cardiac arrest. If severe, it can also cause heart attack or death.

How is Arrythmia diagnosed?

An electrocardiogram (ECG) is often used to diagnose abnormal heart rhythm. You may be asked to wear a Holter monitor. It’s a battery-operated portable device that measures and records your heart’s activity for 24 to 48 hours.

More sophisticated tests may also be used depending on symptoms.

Treatment

  • Lifestyle changes
  • Oral medication
  • Medical devices, such as a pacemaker or Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)
  • Cardiac ablation

Screening is an important step in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and managing lifestyle and risk factors.

Modifiable risk factors include:

  • Diabetes Mellitus
  • High cholesterol Tachycardia is when the heart rate is too fast
  • Hypertension
  • Obesity
  • Unhealthy diet
  • Tobacco use
  • Harmful use of alcohol
  • Sedentary lifestyle

Very few individuals have ideal risk levels on all screening tests. However, if you do have several of these risks, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re destined to develop a serious cardiovascular disease. Instead, it signifies that you are now ready to start making positive changes toward maintaining good health.

Incorporating this into your life will reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular disease and contribute to a long, healthy life.

If you're an individual who has a history of heart attack, heart failure, rhythm problems, stroke or any other heart condition you may need more regular screening.

Some body measurements, blood pressure, blood tests and a detailed history will be taken at your initial screening followed up with additional tests depending on your condition.

Coronary angioplasty is a procedure that opens blocked coronary arteries and restores normal blood flow to the heart muscle without open-heart surgery. It’s a small surgery. It’s done by inserting a catheter, through a small cut on a leg or arm, to the heart. When in place it inflates a tiny balloon at the site of blockage in the artery. This widens the artery and improves blood flow.

Angioplasty can be done in an emergency such as a heart attack or as an elective procedure.

Who needs Coronary angioplasty (Stenting)?

Patients with blockages in their heart arteries may need angioplasty if they are having angina or if their blockages put them at risk of a heart attack. A person who is having a heart attack will benefit from emergency angioplasty.

How is coronary angioplasty done?

  • A catheter is inserted into the blood vessels either in the groin or in the arm.
  • Using a special type of X-ray, the catheter is inserted through the blood vessels into the heart where the coronary artery is narrowed.
  • When the tip is in place, a balloon tip covered with a stent is inflated.
  • The balloon tip compresses the plaque and expands the stent.
  • Once the plaque is compressed and the stent is in place, the balloon is deflated and withdrawn.

What are the complications from a stent?

  • Allergic reactions to the dye used
  • Catheter associated complication (e.g. bleeding, discomfort)
  • Blood clotting
  • Chest pain (due to re-narrowing of the artery)
  • Stent re-narrowing (Approx. 5% annual risk)

CABG is a procedure in which healthy blood vessels from another part of the body are used to ‘bypass’ blocked or narrowed coronary arteries to the heart muscle.

How is CABG surgery done?

  • The surgical team takes a healthy blood vessel from the patient’s chest, leg or arm.
  • One end is attached to the large artery that comes out of the heart, the aorta, the other end is attached to the coronary artery below the place where it’s blocked.
  • Blood can now ‘bypass’ the block and flow through this new channel to the heart.
  • More than one coronary artery bypass may be done at a time, depending on how many arteries are blocked.

What happens during bypass surgery?

  • CABG can be done in different ways. The most common is traditional bypass surgery.
  • The patient will be sedated/asleep during the surgery.
  • An incision is made in the chest. Then, the breastbone is divided and held open during surgery.
  • A heart-lung bypass machine will likely be used. It takes over the job of the heart and lungs during surgery.
  • Traditional bypass surgery can take 3 to 6 hours. The length of time depends on how many arteries need to be bypassed.
  • Depending on the risk factors, a surgical team may use less invasive procedures in which the chest bone isn’t opened.


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