St. Luke’s to open expanded vascular labs this week

CEDAR RAPIDS — UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital is hosting a Tuesday ribbon-cutting to mark the completion of its vascular and interventional radiology labs expansion.

St. Luke’s expanded labs allow its heart and vascular team to care for more patients as the need for cardiac and other interventional procedures continues to increase, the hospital stated in a news release.

The opening of the expansion marks the completion of Phase 2 of the hospital’s $25 million Heart & Vascular Expansion project, which started in 2022.

The newly unveiled Vascular and IR Department features two vascular and IR labs with the latest equipment, along with a third lab designed to accommodate future expansion, the hospital said in a news release.

The labs provide advanced imaging, biopsies, aneurysm repair (treatment of ballooning vessels), and revascularization (restoring blood flow to blocked vessels). The new space also offers dedicated pre- and postoperative areas.

Phase 1 of the expansion, completed in 2024, included the addition of two electrophysiology labs, doubling the hospital’s capacity to perform procedures such as pacemaker insertions, implantable defibrillator placements and cardiac ablations.

The upcoming third and final phase will focus on structural heart advancements, including the addition of a hybrid operating room with the newest technology.

The Tuesday ribbon-cutting, which is by invitation, will include St. Luke’s doctors, the heart care team, hospital administrators and representatives from the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.