Georgians with complex cardiovascular conditions now have more treatment options in Atlanta.

Emory University Hospital is expanding its heart and vascular facilities with more critical care beds and new space for surgeries and specialty services.

The approximately $88 million new expansion includes a new 16-bed cardiovascular ICU unit and a new cardiovascular operating room with robotic capabilities. It also allows for real-time, secure video streaming between surgeons, other specialists, and medical students.

Dr. Angel Leon, executive director of Emory Heart & Vascular, said the new facility is designed to make patient care more efficient by consolidating services into common areas.

“If we are in the surgical area and need some emergency surgery, we don’t have to move the patient. The team is already there. We have supplies in the central support area, so we can move the patient faster and more quickly. We can get to patients more efficiently,” Leon said.

“This allows us to not only do things more cost-effectively, but ultimately to be safer for patients.”

Emory typically performs about 2,000 heart surgeries and thousands of other heart surgeries a year.

With this expansion, the hospital will eventually offer elective surgeries seven days a week. I am currently scheduling planned elective surgeries five days a week.

Hospital officials said they are actively hiring dozens more nurses, technicians and other staff to support additional services.

Leon said the state needs more heart and vascular care, especially as Georgia has seen more than a dozen hospital closures over the past decade, including the closure of WellStar Atlanta Medical Center in Atlanta. He said that.

“We’re not far from Atlanta Medical Center, so we’re seeing an increase in emergency room visits,” he said. “Our hospitals are fuller than usual.”

Cardiovascular disease causes about one in three deaths in Georgia, slightly higher than the national rate, and is the state’s leading cause of death.

According to Augusta University’s recent report, “Healthy Georgia: The State of Our Public Health,” conditions like heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and high blood pressure are on the rise in Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reports that most cardiovascular disease-related deaths in the state are preventable.

Risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking, and high blood cholesterol. According to the CDC, nearly half of Americans live with at least one of these three.

Learn more about Emory Expansion.