St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) opened its new cardiac diagnostic center on January 6, 2026, making these services more accessible to South County residents and expanding care for all patients across Santa Clara County.
The new cardiac diagnostic center offers echocardiography, ambulatory continuous electrocardiographic monitoring (from 3 to 14 days), and treadmill stress testing, all of which help to diagnose heart conditions and are conveniently co-located in the same space.
“Previously, tests that sometimes take five to ten minutes to administer could cost patients up to half a day of travel,” said Angelica, who works as the cardiac nurse at SLRH’s new cardiac diagnostic center. “I’ve seen patients not make it to their appointment multiple times – delaying diagnosis and critical heart care.”
This effort is led by Dr. Sumit Sehgal, who brings his cardiology expertise to South County, along with a team of dedicated Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) staff. Many of them, including Angelica, are South County residents who are seeing the great impact it is having in their community.
This care is vital to the South County community, which is home to a large population of Latinos – a community disproportionately affected by heart disease. Angelica shares that her patients are relieved and grateful to have care closer to home. “So many of them tell us, ‘I had no idea this care is available so close to me,’” she said. “It makes a difference.”
It also expands and strengthens care for all Santa Clara County residents. Already, SLRH is serving patients from other County hospitals, and expanding care helps ensure everyone is connected to heart care faster. SCVH is also working to streamline care across the four hospitals. Staff at SLRH’s cardiac diagnostic center trained with Valley Specialty Center (VSC)’s Cardiology Clinic to standardize care, and several care team members support multiple hospitals. Angelica splits her time between SLRH and VSC, and one of SLRH’s sonographers is also supporting Regional Medical Center.
Dr. Sehgal and the team continue to strive to make care even more accessible to patients. This February, the center is rolling out the use of the DEFINITY contrast agent, which can be used when ultrasound images are not clear enough for diagnosis.
This is just one example of how SCVH continues to make care accessible to everyone in our community, despite the impact of federal budget cuts. To support healthcare for all, you can make a donation today.
