Norton Healthcare opening new space for heart and vascular care

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Norton Healthcare is preparing to open a new Heart and Vascular Institute.

It's located on the Norton Audubon Hospital campus at 2355 Poplar Level Road. The $10 million investment offers more than 40 exam rooms and several procedure rooms for outpatient vein and vascular procedures, including device checks and monitoring capabilities for patients with heart rhythm devices.

Specialties include:

Advanced heart failure and recovery
General cardiology
Cardiac surgery
Electrophysiology
Interventional cardiology
Structural heart
Vascular surgery

"It's bringing together a lot of our specialty services into one location," said nurse practitioner Tara Mudd, provider operations director for Norton Heart and Vascular. "So we're gonna have general cardiology, interventional cardiology and structural heart, our advanced heart failure and recovery program, our Afib clinic, our heart rhythm center, our vascular surgery team as well as our cardiac surgery team, all in one place."

The space also includes a new Chest Pain Clinic and a triage area for people with unexplained chest pain or changes in how they feel that could be related to a heart condition, according to a news release.

Norton Healthcare providers can refer patients to the Chest Pain Clinic for observation and testing where they may receive an EKG or diagnostic labs. Further testing, such as stress testing, an echocardiogram or advanced cardiac CT imaging may be ordered while under observation of advanced cardiac care provider.

The Chest Pain Clinic is not for high-risk patients thought to be having a heart attack. Those patients should immediately seek treatment at the nearest ER.

The Norton Heart & Vascular Institute will open to patients Oct. 17.