| The
Ventura Heart Institute’s mission
is to provide patients with optimal
and cost effective early detection evaluations,
cardiovascular risk assessments, and
tailored prevention strategies to reduce
the risk of have the first or subsequent
cardiovascular event. The Ventura Heart
Institute was originally created as
a separate department within HCA Los
Robles Regional Medical Center in 1987
and remained in the hospital until 1998.
It has screened thousands of
individuals for evidence of heart disease,
provided heart disease education programs
to the public as well as high level
professional education programs to physicians
and health care providers nationally
and regionally. The Institute has participated
in approximately one hundred research
projects that have expanded the drug
options to care for many high risk heart
patients with elevated cholesterol,
high blood pressure, heart failure,
irregular heart beats, and those with
balloon dilation of tight heart blood
vessels. Dr. Irving Kent Loh, VHI’s
director, also believes that optimal
clinical care follows the evidence-based
guidelines that come from strong research,
diagnostic and teaching platforms exemplified
by the programs and services of the
Ventura Heart Institute.
Another
major focus of the Ventura Heart Institute
is the application of information
technology to optimize the management
of diseases. The best care for many
high risk patient groups has been
outlined by several expert panels,
yet the ability of providers to deliver
that care has many barriers. The pragmatic
harnessing of constantly evolving
information technology to ensure the
best quality and outcome is a cornerstone
of surmounting many of these barriers.
Dr. Loh has been the recipient of
an international grant from the London-based
Future Forum to explore the use of
information technology to improve
quality and outcome of patient care.
He has presented on this subject in
conferences, webcasts and for the
American Heart Association's Quality
of Care Forum.
However, in the daily management of patients, the Ventura Heart Institute believes that the best treatment of cardiovascular disease is in the early detection of cardiovascular disease and the prevention of future or recurrent events using the best proven methods available. |
