Heart education held at Evangelical Community Hospital

Feb. 23—LEWISBURG — Less than 10 days after Valentine's Day, the cardiology staff at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg got to follow their hearts.

Thirty pig hearts were the focal point of the Heart Dissection Education Event at the Lewisburg hospital on Friday afternoon. The demonstration, held in February in observance of American Heart Month, was led by Dr. Saquib Siddiqi, a cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Center of Evangelical.

"A lot of the people have never done this," said Siddiqi. "The physicians, the doctors may have done this in medical school, but it's been a long time since it was simplified like this. We do so much, and there's so much complexity in the heart. Let's simplify it. Let's look at the organ we talk about every single day."

The pig heart is similar to the human heart in structure, size and function. The Associated Press reported that the first person to receive an experimental heart transplant from a pig in 2022 died two months after the groundbreaking experiment.

Part of Friday's goal was to provide an understanding of how the heart's circulation works and how different devices work, Siddiqi said.

"The idea is to look at the valves, chambers, vessels of the heart, the thinness, the thickness, touch the heart itself so the staff members have an understanding why certain procedures work the way they do, why there are certain complications, why we go over risks and benefits," said Siddiqi.

In the class were approximately 40 cardiology staff members, including providers, nurses, cardiac catheterization technicians, cardiac rehab staff, cardiac sonographers, and medical assistants — all individuals who work with patients every day who have cardiac conditions.

The staff members broke into groups and were given dissection kits and anatomy documents. Siddiqi and his team led the groups to look inside the heart and review each layer of the heart.

Siddiqi said he anticipates that the presentation will allow staff members to provide information to patients in a much more informed manner.

"The patients will ultimately benefit," he said. "They'll say 'Wow. Everybody really does know about the heart.' When they go in, that information will be confirmed by the doctors, by the testing we do, and it puts in a solid group to say that everybody is on the same page and they're informed on the organ they work on. From the first day walking into the clinic to having their valve replaced or a stent put in, everything will flow in a manner they will understand."

Registered Nurses Kyleigh Reber and Allison Shivley, who both work in the cardiovascular catheterization lab, said the educational event helped them to understand the anatomy of the heart and put it in context.

"Actually seeing a physical heart instead of just 2-D imaging helps tie it all together as cardiovascular staff," said Shively. "We can collect our thoughts and visualize them right in front of us"

Reber and Shively, like many of their colleagues, were able to put on a pair of gloves and handle the hearts.

"I've worked with cat cadavers before and looked at bovine lungs and looked at hearts, but I never go to dissect a heart and see it in so much detail," said Shively. "Dr. Siddiqi did a great job at breaking it all down for us."

Reber said the experience allows them to better educate their patients.

"It gives us more confidence," said Reber.

The experience also counts toward the staff's continuing education credits. They are required to renew their RN licenses and update their education and knowledge every two years.

Siddiqi was joined by Geisinger's Dr. Agarwal and Evangelical Heart and Vascular Center Drs. Melanie Patel, Christopher Brancato, Harun Otieno, and John Pfeifer.