By Matt Leingang
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The UC Heart Center is adding several vascular physicians to its practice and changing its name, which could help increase visibility in Greater Cincinnati's competitive field of cardiac care.

The vascular physicians are joining cardiologists and calling the practice UC Heart & Vascular Center. All 19 doctors are affiliated with the University of Cincinnati.

The center will continue to specialize in minimally invasive treatments, such as pacemaker implants, carotid balloon angioplasty and stent treatment for the prevention of strokes.

But starting in September, it will offer services at University Pointe, a 75-acre medical campus and retail complex in West Chester, that will expand the range of specialty services offered in the suburbs.

The group already practices at University Hospital and Christ Hospital.

Dr. Gerald Dorn, a heart researcher at the UC Medical Center who founded the cardiac group, said the move is not meant to rival Ohio Heart Health Center, which is the largest cardiac physician group in town.

Rather, Dorn said, it's a restructuring within the university to bring cardiologists and vascular physicians together, which will provide more comprehensive treatment for patients.

The announcement comes four months after the opening of the $77 million heart center at Christ Hospital, which is advertised heavily as the top cardiac facility in town, offering open-heart surgery and other services.

It also comes after the Ohio Heart group announced plans last year to build a specialty heart center with Deaconess Hospital. That plan has been indefinitely delayed after Congress imposed a moratorium on doctor-owned facilities.

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E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com