New heart catheterization and special procedures laboratories at St. Peter's Hospital will be a big benefit to both doctors and patients, hospital officials say.

The heart cath lab is dedicated to heart caths only, while the special procedures lab can accommodate heart caths as well as procedures such as placement of central lines, tunnel ports, angiograms and pain management.

Previously, St. Peter's had one lab dedicated to heart caths and one for special procedures that could not do heart caths. The new setup effectively doubles the hospital's capacity to perform catheterizations.

According to Dr. Richard Paustian of the Helena Cardiology Clinic, the lab will provide flexibility to do more catheterizations, which are becoming more and more common as the population ages and heart disease rises.

But Paustian also said the lab tremendously improves the technology available to doctors.

"We've basically gone from a 1986 heart cath lab to a 2009 heart lab," he said. "There's been enormous technological advancement in that time."

Cardiac catheterization is the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart. Once placed, a catheter can be used to perform a number of procedures including balloon angioplasty to open clogged vessels, and angiography.

Jim Kirkbride, director of diagnostic imaging at St. Peter's, said the number of catheterizations has been on the rise in Helena, which often has meant patients with scheduled catheterizations had to wait to get theirs done if an emergency procedure came up. Now, if there's an emergency, the patient can go to whichever room is available.

"We've never been backed up, but we've often had a patient on the table and then have an emergency heart cath come in that they have to wait for," Kirkbride said. "Luckily we've never had any issues with that, but eventually, your luck runs out and you have issues if you can't get someone to the cath lab as soon as possible."

The labs were done in two phases, with the special services lab opening in January and the cardiac catheterization lab set to open June 8.

Kirkbride said the cardiologists on staff at St. Peter's Dr. Carla Kingsley and Dr. John Ribic, were involved from the beginning, from the design to choosing the equipment.

He said other benefits of the new space include having a dedicated place for clean and dirty linens to having a central supply room so both labs have all the supplies they need readily available.

Also, he said, the location is perfect, positioned between same-day surgery and icu, with the emergency room nearby and X-ray and CT scans down the hall.

Paustian added that since he also does a lot of vascular medicine in areas other than the heart, having a special procedures lab that is capable of handling cardiac catheterizations is a big bonus to him.

"I'm now able to do everything in one room," said Paustian, whose practice is not affiliated with the hospital and who wasn't involved in the lab's design. "I can be taking pictures of the carotid in the neck and brain followed immediately by pictures of heart. That's much much better for the patients in that it saves them a second procedure, does everything at once and alleviates some anxiety."

He said that it also markedly reduces cost because he can do both procedures with one catheter.

Kirkbride pointed out that cardiology is a high-stress job, so the amenities and convenience for doctors are good for care, too.

"Anytime a cardiologist can be efficient and comfortable, they're at the top of their game," he said. Take away those little things that irritate, and safety and comfort goes up."

Features editor Joe Menden: 447-4087 or joe.menden@helenair.com