Julia Engel

"Julia Engel was born with a heart murmur, a ventricular septal defect. At 17 she was implanted with her first pacemaker. Julia and her family thought of her condition as physically limited--almost disabled. She was advised not to be really active, to refrain from running and pushing herself. In 1994, Julia changed jobs and became the patient of Dr. Colavita at Sanger Clinic. During discussions of her condition, Julia reported occasional dizzy spells, and after an AV heart block was discovered, Dr. Colavita recommended a dual lead pacemaker." more...

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Peripheral Vascular Disease

What is peripheral vascular disease?

Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) affects nearly 10 million people in the United States. It occurs when the arteries carrying blood to the legs and arms become narrow or clogged. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is the most common type of PVD, and the most common symptom is painful cramping in hips, thighs or calves when walking, climbing stairs or exercising.

How do I know if I have PAD?

Research has shown that nearly 75% of people with PAD do not experience symptoms. Women are less likely to have symptoms than men. This can be dangerous because PAD can lead to painful symptoms, loss of a leg and/or increased risk of coronary artery disease and carotid atherosclerosis. Because individuals with PAD have this increased risk for heart attack and stroke, the American Heart Association encourages anyone who is at risk to discuss PAD with his or her healthcare professional to ensure early diagnosis and treatment.

Most patients referred to the Heineman Vascular Center will undergo non-invasive studies as part of their evaluation. The Heineman Vascular Center provides patients with fully integrated services for vascular diagnosis. This includes an outpatient ambulatory vascular care center, and our non-invasive vascular laboratory.

Patient visits, including outpatients, non-invasive studies, and angiographic studies, have steadily increased since the opening of the Vascular Center in 2002. The surgical case load for the vascular service continues to grow, with more than 450 open surgical cases performed in the past year. Angiographic procedures are being performed by both vascular surgeons and by our vascular interventional cardiologist partners.

Why should I choose Sanger’s vascular team?

Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute offers the Charlotte region’s only horizontally integrated team of vascular specialists. This means that your treatment will be overseen by the complete range of vascular specialists, including cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and vascular interventionists working together.