Erlanger East Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology Lab

Erlanger East continues to grow up. The $50 million expansion of Erlanger East Hospital included four new operating rooms, a new 58-bed patient tower including a 6-bed ICU, and expanded physician office space. Additionally, in August 2016, Erlanger East got its own Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology lab.

CVIR stands for “Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology” and refers to the lab where procedures such as angiograms and stents, as well as vascular and interventional radiology procedures are performed. The new lab is used in procedures “for the heart, for the leg arteries, and for the arteries that supply bloodflow to the brain,” says Dr. Walter Few III, cardiologist with Erlanger Heart and Lung Institute.

“[The new CVIR lab] provides an extension of what we do at the main campus,” Dr. Few explains. “This allows us to continue to further what’s able to be offered to the population in the East Brainerd region.”

In addition to the CVIR lab, Erlanger East now boasts facilities for orthopaedics, urology, plastic surgery, and general surgery. Dr. Few, who grew up in Chattanooga, has watched the city’s growth over the past 30 years. “As the community grows, the medical facilities need to grow as well.”

Dr. Few is passionate about Erlanger’s growth in capabilities specific to heart health for a good reason. “Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of all people in the United States,” says Dr. Few. Along with exercise, eating right, and smoking cessation, Dr. Few recommends partnering with your health care providers to focus attention on health concerns such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol to combat heart disease. “It’s a day by day process.”