Reducing Risk, Improving Rhythm: Treating Atrial Fibrillation

Are you at risk for a heart attack? Learn about your risk factors with our online heart health assessment tool and find help for improving your results.

Diagnosing a heart condition often requires a combination of cardiovascular diagnostic and screening tests. These advanced tests can often determine the existence, type and severity of heart disease.

At Missouri Baptist Medical Center, our Cardiac Diagnostics Center is equipped with advanced technology and expertly trained staff to conducts these tests. Your test results will be evaluated by a board-certified cardiologist on staff at MoBap and discussed with your physician to tailor a treatment plan for your specific condition.

When the need for surgery arose, this close-knit family made the decision to travel to St. Louis for a second opinion and care at Missouri Baptist Medical Center (MoBap). However, Matt and Bill never expected to be in the hospital at the same time, much less have heart surgery on the same day.

At the Washington University Heart Failure Center at Missouri Baptist, we use a team approach to develop an individualized plan of care for you to manage your disease.

Todd Stewart, MD, is no stranger to critically ill patients and life-saving procedures. As a spinal neurosurgeon and chief of neurosurgery at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, it’s all in a day’s work. But it came as a shock when he suffered a life-threatening heart attack last year.

Tom Caspari thought he was too healthy to have a heart attack.

On December 6, 2022, Missouri Baptist Medical Center performed its 1,000^th transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

“We are proud to reach this milestone,” says Michael Mauney, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon on staff at Missouri Baptist. “MoBap was among the first medical centers in the nation to adopt this procedure following FDA approval in Fall 2011.”

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure for replacing a stenotic (tight) aortic valve in which the aortic valve narrows, reducing blood flow from the heart to the aorta. This procedure can also replace failed artificial aortic and mitral valves. TAVR is a treatment option to be considered for those with severe aortic stenosis, including many with worn-out surgical valves.

When Tina needed a new mitral valve, she benefited from BJC HealthCare’s collaborative approach to care that connected her with a multidisciplinary team of heart specialists. Her journey included seamless coordination between medical teams at two BJC HealthCare facilities: Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital and Missouri Baptist Medical Center (MoBap).

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for "men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States." However, heart disease can be present with no symptoms until a significant event happens, like a stroke or heart attack.

Follow these tips to live a healthier life with congestive heart failure.

Looking forward to resuming their active lifestyle in 2022, Connie and Arlin have two trips planned early in the year. Connie said that her heart surgery has given her a new lease on life. "Every time I'm at Missouri Baptist, I feel cared for, listened to and taken seriously. I always tell people that if you have heart problems, go to MoBap."

The new technology at MoBap — robotic magnetic navigation (RMN) — introduces the benefits of robotic precision and safety to cardiac ablation, a common, minimally invasive procedure used to treat arrhythmias

Everybody suffers occasionally from not getting enough sleep. But a lack of sleep can do more than just make you feel tired the next day. Chronic sleep problems can be a contributing factor to more serious health problems.

When it came time for LaTisha (Tish) Smith of Belleville, Ill., to tell her family that she was having surgery, the hardest conversation was with her 9-year-old son, Lee.

As a leader in heart care, Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s cardiac specialists partner with rural hospitals and medical helicopter and ambulance services to offer the region’s leading heart attack network, saving heart muscle and lives.

At Missouri Baptist Medical Center cardiac surgeons have treated atrial fibrillation surgically since 2001.

On Dec. 5, 2017, 57-year-old Ira Schalk began to feel nauseous on his job at a lead mining operation near Viburnum, Mo. For days he had felt tired, but thought it might be the flu. It wasn’t.

Cardiac surgeons at MoBap talk about valve disease and new treatment methods, including minimally invasive surgery.

When Deborah Quesenberry attended the Missouri Baptist Heart Fair in February 2017, she wasn’t expecting to have a diagnosis of a serious health problem.

In 2008, cardiologists at Missouri Baptist Medical Center developed the Heart LifeLine Alliance in partnership with rural hospitals, medical helicopter and ambulance services.

A woman's heart is different. Many women may not experience chest pain. Their warning signs are non-specific and often easily overlooked. 

Knowing the warning signs of a heart attack can make a big difference. The faster someone having a heart attack can get care, the better the outcomes.

We want to help you understand everything there is to know about arrhythmia, why they occur, how they are diagnosed and treated, and what options may be right for you.

Did you know that heart attacks have beginnings and these beginning signs occur in more than half of all heart attack patients? Learn the important early signs and symptoms.