News Room

Genesis a Health Care Destination for Canadian Woman

Recently, a physically fit woman from Canada noticed that she was easily fatigued during workouts. She was accustomed to rigorous workouts but was not feeling well after them. She suspected asthma. It wasn't asthma. What she was actually experiencing was a common symptom of...more

Taking Vascular Care to a New Level

Genesis Medical Center, Davenport, will soon provide faster, safer and more accurate vascular care to the Quad Cities area with the region's first state-of-the-art, angiographic operating room suite. The $2.9 million hybrid surgical suite will take vascular diagnosis and treatment to a new level, hospital officials announced. Genesis will be the first hospital in the region...more

Genesis Heart Institute Spans the Region

Robert Aldis of rural Maquoketa felt overwhelming fatigue while working in his yard last October. He suddenly felt weighed down by exhaustian; his arms became weak and heavy.  Once he came inside, his wife, Karen, herself a two-time veteran of heart attack, knew her 68-year old husband was experiencing a heart related emergency. "She told me, 'I think you are having a heart attack.'...Continue

Reducing Heart Failure Hospitalization

Simply missing a dose of medication, drinking too many fluids, or going overboard on salt intake can land a patient with heart failure in the hospital or the Emergency Room. It's a leading reason for hospitalization for people 65 and older. Indeed, nearly 25 percent of the people on Medicare who are hospitalized for heart failure are back in the hospital within a month, says a study published online Nov. 10 in "Circulation: Heart Failure."

To help prevent the revolving door of hospitalization for heart failure patients, area cardiologists in collaboration with the Genesis Heart Institute, recently opened an outpatient heart failure clinic to give these patients more frequent monitoring. More...

A New Way to Implant Heart Rhythm Devices

At work, Alicia White wears a uniform. It's after work when she likes to unleash her inner fashionista. One of her favorite passtimes is to pull out her array of sparkly eveningwear-and an impressive collection of vintage purses, jewelry and hats and go out on the town in style. So five years ago, when she the 41 year old White learned she needed a pacemaker, her thoughts immediately turned to those evening fashions that show off a woman's bare shoulders. Could she ever again wear strapless gowns, dres with halter straps , or even tank tops...more  

One Child At A Time

The first signs of disconcerting development in her practice came when Vickie Pyevich, M.D., began noticing that not all of her pediatric cardiology patients were being treated for a congenital heart issue. Her experience had been that nearly all of her patients were born with...more

SmartCare: Repairing Aortic Aneurysms

New generation of aortic stents make surgery less invasive

Each year, 200,000 Americans like Dwight Anderson of Davenport are diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm -- a dangerous bulge in the largest blood vessel in the body. If untreated, some can rupture, causing fatal consequences. Lucky for Anderson...more

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Ten years ago, Donald Burman underwent a first-in-the-world heart procedure at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport and was home around dinnertime that day.

On Wednesday, a healthy Burman celebrated the significance of the day with electrophysiologist Michael Giudici, M.D., the Genesis Heart Institute doctor who gave him the first bi-ventricular pacemaker-defibrillator with a lead system that reached to the left ventricle of the heart. The day was Feb. 24, 1999. A heart hospital in Davenport, Iowa, had made worldwide news...more

Helping high-risk heart patients

At many other heart centers, 76-year old Alice White of DeWitt might have been out of luck. The three major arteries of her heart had challenging blockages, including one that was beyond repair. Along with her other health issues, her weak heart made the risks of coronary artery bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty excessively high.

"It was scary," says her daughter, Melissa Lane of DeWitt. "She was very short of breath and having chest pains. Her heart was working at a very low percent...more

Two Hearts Beat as One

Couple fights heart disease together

It began with his angioplasty in 1998, and continued with her angioplasty in 2001.
 
In 10 years, the united hearts of Marvin and Florence Reddick have endured five stent placements, one open-heart surgery, two phases of cardiac rehabilitation, diabetes, and multiple stress tests and angiograms. Their bond has strengthened in the face of diet changes and exercise challenges as they've persevered against coronary artery disease. 

Through chest pains, clogged arteries and cholesterol meds, they've found a mutual dedication to living a healthier lifestyle...more

Women: Listen to Your Heart

Jeanne Stoltz of Bettendorf thought of every excuse in the book to explain away her symptoms of heart attack.

Her nauseous stomach was probably the flu. Her constant shortness of breath was the result of years of smoking, even though she had quit years earlier. Her shoulder ached and pain radiated down her arm but, then again, she had a bad left shoulder.

The 56-year-old had survived an aneurysm four years earlier, and was a frequent sufferer of migraines. Her tolerance for pain already was high. To top it off, she had passed a stress test with flying colors just one year before.

"Unlike many women, I actually had the classic signs of a heart attack...more

Getting Hearts Pumping

World's smallest heart pump comes to Genesis to help high-risk patients.

The world's smallest heart pump has arrived at Genesis Medical Center, Davenport to bring more treatment options to critically ill cardiac patients.

The Abiomed's Impella 2.5 circulatory support system centers on a tiny pump, about the width of a straw. It is inserted into weak hearts to keep them functioning in patients while cardiologists perform lifesaving interventions...more

Changing the Face of Bypass Surgery

Genesis Medical Center, Davenport is among an elite group of U.S. heart centers that are revolutionizing the way coronary artery bypass surgery is performed. Leading the way with new technology, Genesis heart surgeons Nicholas Augelli, M.D., and Robert Fietsam, M.D., are using automated stapling devices instead of hand-sewn sutures to connect bypass vein grafts...more

Exploring New Treatments for Atrial Fibrillation

Blaine Teters is feeling so good these days that he is planning to get back on the golf course. Until recently, his irregular heart beat would have made golf difficult, if not impossible.

The 64 year old Wilton, Iowa automobile dealer had experienced periods as long as five days when his heart was out of rhythm. "It would race up to 200 beats per minute, then drop down to 50. I was feeling lousier and lousier," he explains. "I would get so tired." ...more

Genesis Heart Program Receives Top Ratings from United Healthcare

When it comes to cost-efficiency and quality of cardiac care, Genesis Medical Center has a lot of star power.

For the second consecutive year, Genesis Medical Center has earned "Three Stars and Higher Efficiency" honors -- the highest quality and cost-efficiency rankings from United Healthcare -- in all three of the cardiac categories it considers...more