Skip to main content
As our facilities reopen, we are employing new safety measures to protect you and our caregivers including universal mask use, temperature testing, social distancing, employee COVID-19 testing, visitor restrictions and keeping our COVID-19 symptomatic patients separated from other patients. Nothing is more important to us than you.

AdventHealth Cardiologists Offer Cardiac Care With Compassion

Some of the country’s most exceptional cardiac care is right in your backyard. You can count on the cardiac specialists at AdventHealth Waterman, formerly Florida Hospital Waterman, to use advanced ways of diagnosing, treating and healing the most common — and uncommon — heart conditions.

Meet a couple of our heart doctors:

Gary Allen, MD

Gary Allen, MD was instrumental in creating the Heart Center at AdventHealth Waterman and has performed thousands of procedures. A cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Allen specializes in the advanced “beating heart” open-heart surgery, minimally invasive lung surgery, surgical ventricular remodeling, coronary artery bypass surgery, heart valve replacement and repair. Dr. Allen has been proactive about educating the community about the importance of whole-person wellness — body, mind and spirit — to encourage taking control of one’s health and destiny.

Wistar Moore, MD

Wistar “Tim” Moore, MD joined the AdventHealth Waterman Heart Center in early 2018. Dr. Moore is a cardiothoracic surgeon with particular interest in minimally invasive valve surgery, mitral valve repair, ascending aortic aneurysm repair, atrial fibrillation surgery and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. He is the author of Surviving the Suffering: A Christian Heart Surgeon Looks at Life’s Pain, inspired by his close relationship with his patients and their families as they navigate difficult health journeys.

Expert Guidance & Comprehensive Care

From prevention and risk management to diagnosis and personalized treatment, we walk with you every step of the way to navigate heart disease. We know your needs are unique, so care coordinators will customize your comprehensive treatment plan with a whole-health approach.

Our team utilizes advanced surgical techniques and technologies to put you on the path to recovery whether you’re battling heart disease, stroke, diabetes or another vascular condition.

  • Diagnostic Testing

    The most widely used test to detect heart disease is the stress electrocardiogram (EKG). The EKG traces your heart rate while you exercise on the treadmill. It can identify changes in your heart rhythm, whether enough oxygen is getting to your heart and how much time you can reasonably withstand on a treadmill, which also helps measure your heart’s capacity.

    Nuclear stress is more exact in measuring and locating heart dysfunction. A radionuclide agent is used to sharpen the images that your doctors will analyze.

    An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create moving pictures of the heart that provide a wealth of helpful information, including the size and shape of the heart, its pumping strength and the location and extent of any damage to its tissues. AdventHealth Waterman has new 3D technology to assist our doctors in diagnosing your condition and help you feel better, faster.

  • Cardiac Catheterization

    The purpose of cardiac catheterization is to find out if you have disease in your coronary arteries. This test can pinpoint the size and location of fat and calcium deposits (plaque) that are narrowing your coronary arteries. Results from cardiac catheterization help determine what specialized treatment will be most effective.

  • Angioplasty and Interventional Cardiology

    Angioplasty, also known as interventional cardiology and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is a procedure used to help reopen blocked coronary arteries. During angioplasty, an inflatable, balloon-like device is attached to a catheter to widen diseased arteries and increase blood flow to the heart. Sometimes a stent, a small piece wire mesh, is inserted after an angioplasty to help hold the artery open.

    During a heart attack, an angioplasty procedure can be lifesaving. Better still, elective PCI can prevent a heart attack from happening in the first place. Our experienced interventional specialists can now use balloons and stents to save lives.

  • Coronary Artery Bypass and Off-Pump Bypass Surgery

    Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a surgical option for people who have severe coronary artery disease, a condition in which plaque builds up in the coronary arteries and reduces blood flow to the heart muscle. It is typically only performed when other treatments, such as medicine or angioplasty, are not sufficient to correct the blockage.

    During CABG, a healthy vein or artery from another part of the body is “grafted” to the blocked artery, creating a new passageway for oxygen-rich blood to reach the heart. This vein or artery may be removed from the leg, chest, or forearm. It is then attached to the aorta on one end and the diseased coronary artery on the other end, just past the blocked area. Blood is then redirected through the graft, detouring the diseased section and increasing blood flow to that area of the heart.

    CABG typically requires the chest to be opened surgically, and a heart-lung bypass machine is used to circulate the blood and add oxygen while the heart is stopped during the grafting procedure.

    For some patients, “off pump” surgery may be an option. With this less invasive technique, the heart muscle is slowed with medication but is still beating during the procedure, circulating blood and oxygen on its own without the need for a heart-lung bypass machine. For patients with lung problems, a history of stroke, or those who may have difficulty tolerating the heart-lung bypass machine, off-pump bypass surgery may be the best option. Other candidates for off-pump surgery include those who have undergone conventional CABG surgery and have recurring or new blockages in the grafts, patients who have recurring problems after angioplasty, and patients who cannot tolerate more invasive surgery.

    The primary benefit of off-pump bypass surgery is decreased recovery time, which may range from three to four weeks compared to four to six weeks for traditional CABG surgery. A further benefit is that patients are awake and alert much earlier after surgery, with decreased likelihood of cognitive impairment. Additionally, the risk of stroke, bleeding and kidney failure and the need for blood transfusions is significantly reduced.

  • Electrophysiology

    Intracardiac electrophysiology studies examine how well the heart’s electrical signals are functioning. This diagnostic test is used to look for abnormal heartbeats or heart rhythms which could be a sign of a heart arrhythmia. These results can help you and your doctor decide whether you need medicine, a pacemaker, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), cardiac ablation or surgery. These studies take place in a special room called an electrophysiology (EP) lab or catheterization (cath) lab while you are mildly sedated.

  • Cardiac Rehabilitation

    AdventHealth Waterman’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is a medically supervised program to help you recover after a heart attack, from other forms of heart disease, or after surgery to treat heart disease. Cardiac rehabilitation programs significantly increase your chances of survival.

    Recommended by both the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, the goals of cardiac rehabilitation are to help you regain strength, to prevent your condition from worsening and to reduce your risk of future heart problems. These goals can add up to a better quality of life.

    Our medical team will work with you to develop a customized program of exercise and education. Cardiac rehabilitation is divided into phases that involve various levels of monitored exercise, nutritional counseling, emotional support, and education about lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of heart problems.

    If you’ve had a heart attack or heart surgery, or if you have another heart condition, ask your doctor about joining our cardiac rehabilitation program. You’re likely to come out of our program feeling better than before.

Running through a treatment plan with a patient

Our Biggest Achievement is Caring for You

AdventHealth Waterman has been recognized for our efforts to stay on the leading-edge of cardiac treatments and maintain high standards of cardiac care. In fact, The American College of Cardiology has awarded us the Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primary PCI and Resuscitation, which means we’ve had exceptional success in treating patients with heart attack symptoms.

It's a wonderful feeling to come in here and know that the Lord is at work and you can feel his presence in this hospital, and it just makes your stay here so much more comfortable and so much more caring from the people. It helps as you heal physically and mentally as well.
Cynthia DeVos | Mount Dora