Florida Hospital Celebration health expands cardiology services

Residents and visitors who need emergency cardiac care in the Celebration area now have more options close to home.

Florida Hospital Celebration Health recently launched vascular surgery and interventional cardiology services with two newly expanded and remodeled cardiac catheterization labs, where physicians can use a thin, flexible tube to check and repair the blood flow in coronary arteries.

That means patients suffering from conditions such as heart attacks, congenital heart defects and disease affecting arteries or veins can be evaluated, diagnosed and treated in a single location. The catheterization labs started offering pacemaker services this week.

'There is immense growth in Central Florida, and with that comes the important need to provide advanced, life-saving cardiac care close to our patients' homes,' said Dr. Duane Davis, director of the Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute. 'Our cardiac network will continue to grow along with our community.'

Osceola County's population is expected to skyrocket over the next decade. The University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research estimated 288,200 residents in Osceola in 2015, and that's projected to climb nearly 24 percent to 358,700 by 2030. Surrounding Orange and Polk counties are also projected to experience notable growth.

The Celebration expansion is the latest of Florida Hospital's growing cardiac services ' a diagnostic cath lab opened at the new Florida Hospital Apopka in December, and before that, a cath lab opened at Florida Hospital Kissimmee. These join the established services at Florida Hospital Orlando, Altamonte, Winter Park and East Orlando campuses.

The Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute is one of the largest and best-regarded cardiac facilities in the country, and Florida Hospital is the only health care provider in Central Florida that performs heart transplants. Every year, the Cardiovascular Institute serves more than 70,000 cardiac patients, including 25,000 who seek emergency care and 2,000 who require cardiac surgery.