On Thursday night San Diego Cardiac Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house to familiarize community members with the services they provide and celebrate the opening of their first facility in the South Bay, located at 890 Eastlake Parkway.
“We’re really excited to be a part of the community,” Marketing and Patient Experience Director Krys Devine said.
San Diego Cardiac Center currently has one other location in Kearny Mesa, which has been operating since 1982.
At the new facility, patients currently have access to services including holter monitoring, cardio keys and echocardiograms. As the practice grows and more services are needed, Devine said San Diego Cardiac Center will expand their services and hours at the Chula Vista location.
San Diego Cardiac Center in Chula Vista is now open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.
“We bring a few different therapies that sometimes patients may not have been offered before,” Dr. Arvin P.S. Narula said. “With all the experience and training, sometimes seeing these patients earlier will make a difference in preventing heart disease.”
He along with seven other cardiologists was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to answer questions from community members, have a dialogue with other local physicians and medical administrators and ultimately be approachable.
“One of the things that we’re really focused on is providing education to the physicians in the community as well… We really want to be partners with the other physicians in the community and build a strong relationship with them,” Devine said, adding that San Diego Cardiac specifically sent out 200 invitations to South Bay physicians and medical administrators.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and smoking.
According to a 2013 report prepared by the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, 6 percent of San Diego County adults had been diagnosed with heart disease. The number of south region adults who had been diagnosed with heart disease was almost double that, at 11.3 percent.
In the south San Diego region, Chula Vista had the highest death rate for chronic diseases in 2013, including heart disease.
“There’s a high need to refer patients to cardiology in the South Bay,” Devine said.
A full list of the services San Diego Cardiac Center offers can be found at www.sdcardiac.com.
