Cardiology

Our service is made up of a 12-bed Coronary Care Unit (CCU), a 25-bed Cardiology Ward (called Sacred Heart Ward), a 6 bedded Cardiology Day Ward and a Cardiac Catheterisation lab. The Cardiology Service in our hospital is a national centre for care for people with cardiovascular disease.

The Cardiology Service  cares for patients with cardiovascular diseases such as:

• Ischaemic heart disease (heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries)
• Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
• Heart failure
• Valve disease
• Adult congenital heart disease

We also provide care for people who are waiting for heart transplants.

Once discharged from the Cardiology Service, patients are enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation which is located on the hospital campus on Eccles Street. 

Nurse Specialist Services linked with the Cardiology service

There are a number of nurse specialist services linked with the Cardiology service. These services provide special care for patients with conditions such as:  

• Heart failure
• Chest pain
• Adult congenital heart disease
• Sudden cardiac death screening
• Arrhythmia
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Cardiac Investigations

Cardiac Investigations delivers a wide range of non-invasive diagnostic services to acute, inpatient, outpatient and referral sources including:

Electrocardiography ( ECG )

Treadmill Stress Electrocardiography ( TMET )

Transthoracic Echocardiography ( TTE )

Transoesophageal Echocardiography  ( TOE )

Dobutamine Echocardiography ( DSE )

Ambulatory Monitoring
(Holter, BP and Event Monitors)

Cardiac Rhythm Management ( CRM )

 

Chest pain clinic

The chest pain clinic offers specialist assessment for patients who attend their GP with chest pain. We aim to investigate patients quickly so we can tell them if their chest pain is heart related or not. The clinic is run by a clinical nurse specialist. It is supported by all of our consultant cardiologists and by cardiac physiologists who perform many of the cardiac tests. Currently all referrals are received through health link to each consultant who in turn triage and refer the patient to the chest pain clinic  

Education

The nursing teams within the Cardiology service are highly skilled and educated. There is a focus on continuing education, with monthly educational updates available for nursing staff, as well as mandatory training and advanced cardiac life support courses. Every year, we run the postgraduate diploma in cardiovascular nursing in partnership with University College Dublin and St Vincent’s University Hospital.