Heart care on The Strip

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center offers advanced cardiovascular care to Southern Nevada and the surrounding region. With a cardiac event, every second counts, and we work as a team to get patients the treatment they need quickly.

In addition to treating more heart patients than any other hospital in Las Vegas, we are well equipped with some of the best cardiology-related services available anywhere. Our heart doctors provide a range of services, from routine diagnostic testing to heart attack treatment.

To find a doctor specializing in heart health, call our Consult-A-Nurse® line at (702) 233-5454 or our cardiology associates at (702) 961-5020.

Quality heart care in Las Vegas

There are various organizations or facilities you could choose from when determining where to receive cardiac care. When you choose Sunrise Hospital, you have access to leading cardiology services and advanced procedures.

Benefits of receiving care from our facility include:

  • We are certified in disease-specific care for chest pain by The Joint Commission.
  • We have a pediatric and adult arrhythmia center—the only hospital in the state to offer electrophysiology procedures to pediatric patients.
  • We are the only hospital in Nevada to offer comprehensive pediatric heart surgery for congenital (present at birth) heart abnormalities.
  • We have seven cardiac catheterization labs where we treat all types of heart disease.
  • Our cardiovascular surgery physician assistants are unique among heart programs in the state and are available to help with heart cases.

Are you at risk for heart disease?

You can't control some risk factors for heart disease such as heredity and gender. However, most cases of heart disease can be prevented. They include:

  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Obesity
  • Physical inactivity
  • Smoking
  • Type 2 diabetes

One in three Americans suffers from some form of heart disease. You can find out if you're at risk by taking our heart health assessment.

Once you receive your results, you can talk to your physician about your next steps. Although this is a valuable tool, this assessment isn't a substitute for an examination by your physician.

Take the Heart Health Assessment

Conditions we treat

At Sunrise Hospital, our heart specialists are trained and experienced in treating a range of cardiovascular diseases and conditions, including the following:

Heart attack

A heart attack occurs when one or more arteries to the heart become blocked with plaque or cholesterol. The heart muscle can die due to the lack of blood flow. That's why you need immediate care if you're experiencing any of the following symptoms:

  • Pressure, tightness or pain in the chest that may radiate to the arms, neck, jaw or back
  • Nausea, indigestion or heartburn symptoms
  • Shortness of breath
  • Cold sweat
  • Fatigue
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness

Our hybrid operating room is designed for high-tech heart procedures. The room allows heart disease specialists to perform cardiac catheterization procedures and surgeries in the same operating room, which can save vital time. This hybrid OR is the first of its kind in Southern Nevada.

Heart failure

Heart failure occurs when the heart can't pump enough blood efficiently because it's too stiff or weak. Conditions such as narrowed arteries in your heart or high blood pressure can eventually lead to heart failure.

At Sunrise, we can implant a small device into your pulmonary artery to measure your blood pressure and heart rate. The device can send the data wirelessly to your team of specialists, who can monitor any changes and recommend a change in treatment if necessary.

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD)

If you have heart failure but don't qualify for a heart transplant, you have a lifesaving option right here in Las Vegas. Sunrise is the only hospital in Nevada to offer an LVAD procedure.

An LVAD is a mechanical pump surgically implanted to treat advanced heart failure by assisting the heart perform its function of pumping blood to the rest of the body. This helps alleviate the workload on an already weakened heart and may give the heart an opportunity to recover or as a bridge therapy to other advanced heart failure treatment options like heart transplant.
Heart attacks, heart failure and other medical conditions are potential causes of a damaged and weakened heart. If your heart remains weak and is unable to recover its ability to pump blood to the rest of your body despite medical treatment, your cardiologist may recommend you undergo an evaluation by an advanced heart failure specialist to determine if an LVAD is the right option for you. An LVAD can significantly improve your quality of life by making you feel stronger and healthier than if you were left with a weakened heart. It could also serve as an essential bridge to more advanced therapies such as a heart transplant which is not currently offered here in Nevada.
Your doctor may recommend a left ventricular assist device to help your heart work better if you:
  • Are currently on a list for heart transplant
  • Need temporary support while your heart heals
  • Need a long-term treatment for heart failure
The LVAD is implanted through open heart surgery. The procedure takes about four to six hours and requires general anesthesia. The exact technique used differs based on the performing surgeon and the individual patient’s needs. The pump is implanted directly onto the chamber of the heart that is responsible for pumping blood to the rest of your body. This pump is then connected to the aorta, which is the vessel that channels blood to your body. A tube that connects the device to a controller is tunneled towards the abdomen and exits in the lower abdomen. This tube allows communication between the controller as well as power to be delivered to the device for it to operate.
Before surgery
  • Based on your health, you may need to be admitted to the hospital before surgery to ensure all the prerequisite workups are completed and all essential specialists are involved in your care to ensure the best outcomes after the device is implanted.
After surgery
  • You will need to stay in the hospital for approximately two weeks after your surgery and sometimes longer to ensure optimal recovery. Before being discharged home, we will ensure you, your caregiver and support system are given a thorough education on the device and how to manage it. Regular follow up visits at an advanced heart failure clinic are also scheduled prior to discharge to ensure you are doing well and the device is doing its job to keep you strong and healthy.
The ability to live a normal life with a complex medical device is a major concern for people who are considering LVAD therapy. Fortunately, our patients who have undergone this procedure have found many unique ways to adapt and seamlessly incorporate the LVAD into their daily lives without skipping a beat.
  • The system controller and the battery packs that power the device have a combined weight of about five pounds (i.e. a 13-inch laptop or small cat), which can be cumbersome, particularly for someone who has to wear them at all times.
  • A backup pair of batteries and system controller must be brought with you wherever you may go.
  • The driveline which is the connection between the outer component of the LVAD (system controller and batteries) and the pump that is inside your body exits through your abdomen, has to be monitored regularly, kept clean, and dressed with a see through dressing at all times to prevent infections.
  • You will need to take blood thinners for as long as you have an LVAD to prevent life threatening blood clots from forming within and around the pump.
  • The system controller and pair of batteries are electronic in nature and cannot be submerged under water. Therefore, you will not be able to swim or take a bath. You will be able to shower with special precautions and will be trained on how to do so safely.
  • You will have to have to connect your system controller to an electrical outlet when you sleep as sleeping with batteries is a safety issue. We work together with the local utility company to ensure that you have a reliable source of electricity at home.
Living with a LVAD is a major life change. The presence of a person who is committed to supporting and caring for you for the duration of LVAD therapy is essential. This person will need to take on the role of primary caregiver once you are home. Therefore, they will need to come with you to the hospital to learn how to take care of the LVAD with you. For the first few weeks of recovery at home, they will need to stay with you at all times in case of an emergency until you have fully adapted to living life with a LVAD.
  • Sunrise hospital and Medical Center is the ONLY LVAD implanting facility in Nevada.
  • Service is provided locally, eliminating the need to travel and relocate to other states
  • Sunrise hospital implanted the first LVAD patient in Nevada who has since successfully transitioned to heart transplant and remains a healthy member of our community
  • Sunrise hospital has a strong collaborative relationship with many prominent heart failure programs throughout the country

If you would like to learn more about our LVAD program or discuss a specific patient with our team, please contact Sunrise Hospital’s LVAD program coordinators;

Nik Mahmood, FNP-C at: (702) 961-7470

Chalisa Pansin, AGACNP-BC at: (702) 961-7474

Heart arrhythmia

Your heart has electrical currents and signals that cause it to pump blood and contract. If there is something wrong with the electrical signals, your heart can pump too fast, too slow or irregularly.

We can also treat many types of arrhythmia and other disorders of the heart's electrical system in our electrophysiology labs.

Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC)

If you have atrial fibrillation (AFib), your heart’s two upper chambers beat in an abnormal pattern too quickly. This can decrease the amount of oxygen your body receives.

We offer a special program to treat complications from AFib, which includes a LAAC implant. During AFib, blood may collect in a small sac in the heart called the left atrial appendage. Clots may form there, and if a clot breaks loose and travels to the brain, it may cause a stroke.

Doctors can seal off the left atrial appendage by inserting a parachute-shaped device into the opening and expanding it so no blood can collect there.

In this virtual seminar, an electrophysiologist and cardiologist at Sunrise Hospital discusses AFib and technology created to help reduce the long-term risk of stroke for AFib patients.

Learn more about the LAAC device and its potential benefits for AFib patients.

Heart valve disease

Heart valves open and close to allow blood to flow through your heart. When something happens to these valves, either through disease or a congenital abnormality, blood can't flow properly throughout the body. If it's not treated, it can cause heart rhythm problems, blood clots or heart failure.

At Sunrise Hospital, we offer several procedures to treat problems with heart valves:

  • Transcatheter mitral valve therapy treats mitral regurgitation, a condition in which your heart's mitral valve doesn't close tightly. This allows blood to flow backward in your heart.
  • We can replace a blocked or leaky valve that has been previously repaired using a bioprosthetic valve at the end of a balloon catheter.
  • We offer testing and treatment of heart murmurs, which are sounds blood can make flowing through the heart. they can be either harmless or a sign of something more serious.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

TAVR is a special way to treat a narrowed aortic valve that fails to open properly. Doctors use a catheter to implant a replacement valve into the opening without removing the old valve.

Once the new valve expands, it pushes the old valve leaflets out of the way and the tissue in the replacement valve takes over the job of regulating blood flow. Doctors use a small incision in the skin to replace the valve, which allows for better outcomes and quicker patient recovery.

In this virtual seminar, an interventional cardiologist at Sunrise Hospital discusses advanced heart disease and aortic stenosis and how TAVR can help.

Online pre-registration

Are you scheduled for a procedure or surgery? If so, you may pre-register online.

Pre-register online