Cardiovascular Center

World-class heart care, close to home.

Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s biggest killer. But excellent care can help you beat the odds. Countless studies prove that the very latest therapies, combined with positive lifestyle changes, can help people effectively manage heart disease--and even reverse it.

To be most effective, the extraordinary attention your heart deserves should fit easily into your everyday life. That’s why Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center offers advanced care that’s highly convenient and easily accessible. And because we’re part of Duke University Health System, our patients have direct access to the services of Duke Heart Center, rated the best center for cardiovascular care in the Southeast and among the nation’s top five heart centers by U.S.News & World Report.

Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center makes getting the right heart and vascular care easier than ever.

• Multidisciplinary, collaborative care by board certified physicians and highly trained caregiver teams
• Screenings, support, education, and guidance to prevent heart disease, ease recovery, and encourage wellness
• State-of-the-art diagnostic technologies for the clearest images, least radiation exposure, and most accurate evaluation of heart conditions
• Specialized expertise and comprehensive services in coronary and peripheral artery disease, heart arrhythmias, congenital heart conditions, and congestive heart failure
• Sophisticated treatment options including angioplasty and stenting for peripheral vascular disease, congenital heart disease, and carotid artery blockage
• Access to limited clinical trials of promising treatments available only through leading medical centers such as Duke

Find out more about how our cardiovascular services can help you and your loved ones lead longer, healthier lives:

Prevention
Diagnosis
Treatment
Support Services

Insights to Encourage Heart Health

When it comes to cardiovascular disease, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. That’s why Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center offers a broad variety of prevention-oriented screenings and educational programs.

We can help you determine your unique risk profile for heart disease through expert evaluation of:

• blood cholesterol and other blood-borne lipids (fats)
• blood pressure
• age
• gender
• family history
• weight
• physical activity level
• diet
• tobacco use.

If you’re at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease, we can help you make healthful lifestyle changes through consultations in exercise, nutrition, and stress management; exercise programs and classes; and instruction in yoga and relaxation techniques.

To help women in our community fight heart disease, Raleigh Cardiovascular Center is committed to working with community obstetricians, gynecologists, and primary care physicians throughout Wake County to provide screenings and treatment education. Our women’s cardiology services reflect a multidisciplinary approach designed to help women effectively address the lifestyle and psychosocial issues that may place them at greater risk.

To broaden awareness and understanding of cardiovascular disease in general as well as specific conditions and concerns, Raleigh Cardiovascular Center offers a full calendar of community education seminars and special events that focus on women’s heart health, heart-healthy cooking, heart failure management, and many other topics of interest.

State-of-the-Art Diagnostics

Effective treatment for heart disease relies on evaluation that’s both accurate and timely. That’s why Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center is committed to performing diagnostic studies within 72 hours of a request. Our goal is to provide seamless coordination of care should additional services be required.

Among the advanced diagnostic tools at our disposal is our new cardiac catheterization facility. Its flat-screen monitor provides remarkably crisp images of the heart and its blood vessels, helping our physicians to accurately assess congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease. Our physicians and technicians are expert in the use of echocardiography, a non-invasive imaging tool that visualizes key anatomical details to reveal the condition and functioning of your heart.

Peripheral vascular disease, which affects as many as 1 in every 8 Americans, poses particular diagnostic challenges, as it can occur in blood vessels throughout the body. Through a variety of imaging technologies, our doctors can identify blood vessel blockages in the aorta, kidney, legs, as well as in carotid and cerebral arteries that supply blood to the brain.

Due to our close partnership with Duke, we also offer access to one of the most powerful new diagnostic technologies in cardiovascular care: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Within Duke’s Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Center, cardiologists and scientists who are leaders in cardiovascular MRI can see into the cellular structure of the heart to evaluate the health of cardiac tissues after heart attacks, surgical repairs, and other events.

Collaborative Care for Cardiovascular Disease

Studies show that heart patients benefit from the combined expertise and perspectives of several health care professionals. Such a multidisciplinary approach is a hallmark of the care heart patients receive at Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center. The customized treatment plan we develop for each patient reflects the combined efforts of community-based cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons, working closely with their Duke colleagues. To ensure that all our patients’ needs are addressed, our cardiac care team also includes highly skilled:

• nurses
• physician associates
• social workers
• dieticians
• physical therapists.

Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center offers unique strengths in

• coronary and peripheral artery disease
• congenital heart disease
• heart failure

and a comprehensive approach to women’s heart health.

In addition to expert disease management, we provide sophisticated treatment options including:

• angioplasty
• stenting
• electrophysiology
• pacemaker insertion
• surgical repair of several types of congenital heart conditions.

As a member of Duke University Health System, Duke Raleigh Cardiovascular Center offers evidence-based care incorporating the very latest discoveries regarding which therapies, used in what specific ways, offer the best hope of recovery and a high quality of life. Our association with Duke also gives our patients access to unique therapies that are typically available only through a limited number of leading health centers nationwide. Patients who choose to take part in Duke clinical trials can have their progress monitored right here in Raleigh.

Whole-Person Help for Your Heart

When you have heart disease, your concerns are likely to extend far beyond medical treatment. That’s why we specialize in caring for "the whole person," with resources to address logistical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. Our services for heart patients, their families, and community residents include:

Support groups and individual counseling that allow heart patients and their families to share feelings and solve problems.

Expert help so patients and their families can cope with practical concerns such as transportation, finances, lodging, rehabilitation, and legal and employment issues.

Complete cardiac rehabilitation facilities and services to help you make the permanent lifestyle improvements that will help you live a longer, healthier life.

Nutritional counseling to help patients make beneficial dietary changes to manage their condition and reduce their risk of recurrence.

By addressing every aspect of your well-being, our program helps ensure that you’ll reap the greatest benefits from our outstanding clinical care.

To contact the Cardiovascular Center, call 919-862-5500.

Cardiac, Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Wellness Center

Learn more about Cardiac Rehabilitation and the Wellness Center.

Learn more about Pulmonary Rehab.