The anesthesiologists at Shands at UF Heart Center provide state-of-the-art anesthesia care for the thousands of patients who require heart procedures and surgery each year.

Primarily, a cardiac anesthesiologist's job is to determine the best course of care for each individual patient. For cardiac surgery, general anesthesia is usually used, which means the patient is unconscious, immobile, and unable to experience pain or other sensations. Patients under general anesthesia have no recollection of the procedure.

Local anesthesia or sedation is used during a noninvasive or minimally invasive procedure. Though not actually unconscious, patients may fall asleep and not remember much of the procedure.

During any procedure, our cardiac anesthesiologists are committed to:

• ensuring our patients’ comfort during surgery or a cardiac procedure by using anesthetics tailored to the specific medical condition and existing health issues.
• monitoring vital functions, including breathing, heart rate and rhythm, blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen saturation and fluid and blood needs, throughout and immediately following the treatment, making medical decisions on each patient’s behalf as necessary.
• managing our patients’ care, including any pre-existing medical conditions, throughout surgery and the immediate post-operative period.
• managing pain during the immediate post-operative period.
• providing expert consultation on many issues pertaining to our patients’ care, including pain management, anticoagulation and airway management.

Before any procedure, a pre-operative interview with your cardiac anesthesiologist will allow him or her to learn more about your health history and habits. This interview also provides you the opportunity to ask questions and voice any concerns.

The Shands at UF Difference

Cardiac anesthesiologists have completed:

• four years of college
• four years of medical school
• at least four years of graduate-level medical training (a year of internship and three years in an anesthesiology residency program)
• at least one year of a cardiac anesthesia fellowship program.

At Shands at UF, our cardiac anesthesiologists are knowledgeable about many areas of medicine, including cardiology, internal medicine, critical care and pharmacology. As a world-class academic medical center, education and research are a vital part of our mission, and allow our cardiac anesthesiologists to continually update their knowledge and skills.

Information

For more information about the Shands at UF Heart Care services to schedule an appointment, please call 800.749.7424 or 352.265.8000.

Shands at UF Heart and Heart Surgery services were ranked 24th in the country by U.S.News&World Report.

Heart Care at Shands at UF

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Make an Appointment

To make an appointment or find out more information about heart care services offered at Shands at the University of Florida, please call 352.265.8000 or toll-free 1.800.749.7424

You may also email our Consultation Center (consult@shands.ufl.edu) or use our secure online form.