On Thursday, Feb. 22 Upson Regional Medical Center hosted the Heartbeat of Upson celebration to share successes and enhancements of the hospitals cardiology services, including the full-serve cardiovascular catheter laboratory.

CEO Jeff Tarrant welcomed all attendees, giving thanks to the organizations board of directors, as well as staff members who made the celebration happen. Following his welcome, he introduced Ed Searcy for an invocation.

URMC, with 115 licensed beds, serves an eight-county region in middle Georgia and is the only hospital for six of those counties. Tarrant said the service area is described as an older population and Upson has the oldest population within the public health district.

Cardiovascular disease is quite a problem within our population, Tarrant stated. In fact, Upson County itself has the second highest cardiac death rate on a per capita basis of any county within the State of Georgia, adding that the statistics cover a date range through 2019j. We will get some updated numbers soon, and we are anxious to see those numbers during the coming years based on the investment we have made and the resources to help reduce that.

In 2016, URMC opened its first diagnostic catheter laboratory, but no treatment was available through URMC at the time, due to state guidelines.

In 2019, hospital officials began studying the population and found significant numbers of cardiovascular disease, leading to a push for more services.

Although the COVID-19 outbreak created an additional barrier to cross, URMC continued to work with partners to introduce a full-service, full-spectrum cardiac catheter lab, opened in December 2020.

Director of Cardiology and Imaging Services Sue Mangum introduced the cardiology staff and providers, including Rajeev Pillai, M.D., FACC, FSCA, who provided a presentation of cardiology services. Additional providers include Joshua Donis, M.D.; Ryan Macwar, M.D.; Candice Young, NP-C; and Kaitlin Carmichael, RN-BSN.

Dr. Pillai, who is board certified in internal medicine, interventional cardiology, and cardiovascular disease, has performed high-volume coronary intervention procedures for more than 15 years.

Prior to URMC, one of the various positions he held was as director of the catheter laboratory at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (a 400-bed hospital), and through his work in larger hospitals, he said he found no purpose.

This has been an incredible experience. I work with incredible people, he said prior to speaking on the variety of cardiology services offered at URMC.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming one life approximately every 34 seconds. Along with its related complications, cardiac disease is the number one reason why people in Upson County are hospitalized. At URMC, officials say they are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of all cardiovascular disorders.

Cardiology services offered at URMC include the interventional catheter laboratory, cardiac rehabilitation, the congestive heart failure clinic, pacemaker follow-ups, and pulmonary rehabilitation. Diagnostic services include inpatient/outpatient EKGs, echo cardiology services, coronary CT angiography, 128 slice CT, impedance cardiography, and stress tests.

Throughout the last three years, the URMC catheter laboratory has performed 913 diagnostic heart caths, performed 450 coronary interventions, including stents and angioplasties, and managed 108 major heart attacks.

Prior to a tour of the laboratory, residents Debbie McClain and Mike Mangum spoke about their experiences at URMC.

McClain, publisher of the Upson Beacon, spoke about how URMC saved her life when she needed a bypass procedure.

I felt like I was healthy and then I wasnt, she began. They could not figure out why my heartbeat was jumping When Dr. Pillai looked at my heart monitor, he ordered a heart cath, and it turns out I had a 98 percent blockage.

McClain commented that she also had instances at two other hospitals throughout the journey, and said, Theres no place like home. These people are top-notch Its incredible what we can do here and how dedicated these people are. Its scary to have heart problems but these are the people to go to.

While introducing her husband Mike, Sue Mangum added, Helping to start the cath lab took a personal turn for me about two months after we opened, when my husband became a guest.

Mike shared his story, detailing the ways he has prioritized his health since 1976, when he decided he would never want to have coronary bypass surgery.

Its a life extender, its a life saver, it enhances the quality of life, but I did not want it. Theres no fun in that type of procedure, he stated. So, I developed a lifestyle that would prevent that.

As he slowed down throughout the years, Mike described moving a mattress with another man when he just could not continue. Although he felt no pain, he said that he was out of breath and in shock. Once he stood up, he took an Aspirin, and scheduled a stress test for the next day.

Following the test, he had not made it home before doctors called him back to the hospital, and before the sun set, he had a stent implemented.

By nine oclock the next morning, I was back home, he stated. Because of the resources at the hospital, I was able to avoid bypass surgery and I was able to avoid going to Atlanta - two of the most important things in my life were managed by the resources here.

Related to the services provided, he concluded by saying, If you havent been through it, you cant appreciate just how good it is, how professional it is, how good the people are.

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