For Immediate Release: March 26, 2008

Contact: Brian Reardon (217) 544-6464, ext. 44306

Prairie Heart takes center stage at American College of Cardiology conference

Report shows St. John’s Hospital ranks among top 10 in the nation for cardiovascular care

SPRINGFIELD – More than a dozen cardiologists with the Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital will play prominent roles in sharing their knowledge about the latest advances in cardiovascular care at the annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference in Chicago, March 29 – April 1. Prairie physicians will present research and lead discussions on best practices with many of the more than 30,000 cardiologists attending the ACC conference.

Prairie Heart’s high profile at the conference coincides with a new report that shows St. John’s Hospital ranks among the top 10 hospitals in the nation for successfully implementing guidelines that result in the best outcomes for cardiac patients. 

Dr. James T. Dove, who served as president of Prairie Cardiovascular until his retirement in 2006, currently serves as president of the American College of Cardiology, while Dr. Marc Shelton, Prairie Cardiovascular, is serving as the conference chairman. In addition to chairing the conference, Dr. Shelton will serve as the moderator for a roundtable discussion on the results of clinical research on a new cholesterol drug.

“The ACC conference exposes cardiologists from around the nation to the very latest thinking in cardiovascular care. Prairie physicians have been invited by the ACC to share the research findings and clinical performance models that we’ve established through our treatment of patients here in central Illinois. Our hope is that sharing the knowledge we’ve gained will help save lives across the country,” said Dr. Shelton.

Prairie Heart Institute’s leadership in cardiovascular care was highlighted this month in a report by the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Duke’s ACTION Registry ranked St. John’s Hospital among the top ten hospitals nationally for adopting best practices in cardiovascular care. St. John’s ranks first in the nation for two of the Registry’s 12 quality indicators.

In addition to Dr. Shelton, other Prairie physicians presenting and playing prominent roles at the ACC include:

• Dr. Gregory Mishkel presenting findings from a four-year study on real world stenting;
• Dr. Krishna Rocha-Singh, co-chair of the conference, organizing peripheral and vascular disease sessions;
• Dr. Raghu Kolluri coordinating discussion sessions on peripheral vascular disease;
• Dr. Charles Lucore presenting on the use of CT angiography in cardiac practice;
• Dr. Nilesh Goswami and Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein both presenting on interventional cardiology;
• Dr. Frank Mikell, president of Prairie Cardiovascular, participating in a panel discussion on electronic medical records;
• Dr. Frank Aguirre presenting on how regional hospitals can better coordinate more efficient and faster care for heart attack patients;
• Dr. Richard Katholi presenting on renal protection from contrast agents and co-chairing a session on hypertension;
• Dr. Miguel Zabalagoitia presenting on the latest echocardiographic techniques;
• Dr. Kriegh Moulton presenting on the evaluation and treatment of syncopy in practice;
• Dr. Tony Demartini presenting on advances in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease;
• Dr. Ray Kacich presenting on the ethics of medicine.