Diagnostic Services

Assessing Your Heart Health Needs

Our cardiac team has spent countless hours dedicated solely to helping patients' family members and friends understand cardiac procedures, assuring them that their loved one is in the right hands.

If you need cardiovascular services, you will usually receive a referral from a physician to visit the Cardiac Access Unit at Morristown Memorial.

Our friendly, expert health care team will talk to you and your doctor about your particular needs and how we can help you. You may complete your treatment in this unit, or you might be sent for additional testing and care in any one of our specialized Cardiac Care Units. These units feature a comprehensive range of surgical and non-surgical diagnostic testing procedures for both inpatients and outpatients.

Once your medical needs are determined, you will be admitted to one of several specialized cardiac departments that comprise our inpatient Telemetry Units. Here, you will be carefully monitored before and after every test and procedure.  Your health care team will include clinical registered nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, care managers and cardiac rehabilitation specialists, who will create a comprehensive individualized treatment and recovery plan.

If you need cardiac surgery, you will also need the services of our Cardiac Post Anesthesia Care Unit (CPACU). In this specialized unit, located adjacent to the operating room, a multi-disciplinary team of specialists that includes the physician, critical care registered nurses, and respiratory therapists will monitor your needs before, during and after surgery.

Most patients move to the hospital's Post Open Heart Unit in about a day. Our Post Open Heart Unit staff continues to assess your needs and provide appropriate clinical intervention if necessary. You may stay anywhere from five to seven days after your surgery to continue your recovery.

Cardiac rehabilitation begins here. Experienced nurses will help you get back on your feet, extending encouraging words and strength-restoring routines. Cardiac rehabilitation nurses plan, track and evaluate your progress, managing all of the doctors and other experts who provide 24-hour care for you. Dieticians will help you develop a sensible, realistic nutrition plan, and care managers and social workers ensure that you will continue to get the care you need once you return home.

You and your family are always welcome to attend Morristown Memorial's education classes and learn more about preventing heart disease, treating heart disease, and appropriate lifestyle changes after cardiac surgery. Your family is an important partner in your health care and your road back to wellness, and we want to be sure they feel supported too.