JESUP — Residents in Jesup and the surrounding communities now have one less reason to travel elsewhere for health care thanks to Wayne Memorial Hospital’s addition of full-time cardiologist Dr. Gary Stern and an additional diagnostic tool, the cardiac CT.
Recruiting physicians from outside the area benefits the public in many ways, including those physicians bringing new technology and ideas with them.
“Undergoing a cardiac CT is similar to a noninvasive angiogram,” Stern said. “And patients don’t have to travel to Savannah now for a closer look at their heart because we can offer it here now.”
A cardiac CT, formally known as a coronary computed tomography angiography, or CCTA, is a heart-imaging test that assists in determining if plaque buildup has narrowed a patient’s coronary arteries, which are the blood vessels that supply the heart, according to radiologyinfo.org.
A cardiac specialist or a primary-care physician may order the test, which is then performed by a radiologist and appropriate staff.
“The cardiac CT is a great tool, and Wayne Memorial is way ahead of other hospitals in offering this to their patients,” radiologist Dr. Gordon Greene said. “Adding this to their slate of existing services is an appropriate step in the detection of cardiovascular disease and in the prevention of sudden cardiac death.
“Eventually, the cardiac CT will be a diagnostic mainstay,” he added.