HJAR May/Jun 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAY / JUN 2023 61 Steven Meadors, MD Vascular Surgeon CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute patients with carotid stenosis, or a blockage in the carotid artery of the neck that supplies the brain. These patients are often experi- encing intermittent vision changes, intermit- tent weakness on one side of their body, or even slurred speech. These can be signs and symptoms of a mini stroke, or even more severe symptoms can mean a stroke caused by carotid disease. I also work with patients suffering aortic aneurysms that are either in the chest or in the abdomen, although a lot of times, aneurysms are asymptomatic so we’re aggressive in screening for those. An integrated, team approach to heart care With such a wide range of heart disease af- fectingArkansans, it has become increasingly clear how important it is for doctors and oth- er healthcare professionals across specialties to work together. We all want the same thing, which is the best possible outcome for our patients. In order to achieve that, we need to leverage each other’s expertise. The vascular surgeon rounds out any defi- ciencies heart care teams may have to ensure each patient can benefit from the care of a surgeon with significant expertise in their specific condition. n a wide range of tools in our toolbox to help care for patients and address their complex problems. Expanding heart surgery capabilities in Arkansas to address heart disease Heart disease remains a leading cause of death across the nation, but I have seen much more severe disease here since re- turning home to Arkansas than I even wit- nessed in nearby Texas. There are a lot of reasons for that, including lifestyle choices, widespread obesity, and the overall damage smoking causes to the vascular system. All of this means that vascular disease is more severe in Arkansas than even many of our neighboring states. As a vascular surgeon, I spendmuch of my time treating patients with peripheral vascu- lar disease, which primarily includes block- ages in the arteries in the legs. This condition is usually symptomatic with people having pain in their calves when they walk, and it can progress to the point that they have constant pain in their feet or a wound on their foot that is not healing. In these cases, it needs to be further investigated to see if they have significant vascular disease. I also work with a significant number of ASAvascular surgeon, I joined a team of car- diologists and cardiac surgeons to comple- ment their expertise in order to bring that thorough, multidisciplinary care to our patients. Vascular surgery really only became a specialty in itself within the past 20 years as we began to recognize the need for surgeons dedicated to vascular pathologies with ex- pertise in both traditional surgery and new endovascular techniques. That may seem like a long time, but, in truth, it means that we gen- erally have a gap when it comes to this kind of expertise inArkansas, andmy workmeans filling that void while simultaneously educat- ing my fellow healthcare providers whomay not yet fully understand the complementary nature of this field. A vascular surgeon basically focuses on all the blood vessels outside of the heart and outside of the brain. Whether utilizing tra- ditional open surgery or endovascular and percutaneous methods, and I often combine techniques at the same time to optimally treat patients, we can even perform many of the same procedures as interventional cardiolo- gists or interventional radiologists when it comes to treating the peripheral vasculature. We also operate all over the body and have “With such a wide range of heart disease affecting Arkansans, it has become increasingly clear how important it is for doctors and other healthcare professionals across specialties to work together.”