What is interventional cardiology?
Interventional cardiology is the specialized branch of cardiology that treats coronary artery disease with balloon angioplasty and stenting, therapies that unblock clogged arteries that supply blood to the heart, stop heart attacks and relieve angina, or chest pain. To perform angioplasty, doctors, called interventional cardiologists, must have extra training to learn how to thread a small, flexible tube, or catheter, with an uninflated balloon on its tip, from an artery in the groin to the blockage. At the blockage, they inflate the balloon to push open the blockage and restore blood flow through the artery. They may also guide a stent, a tiny mesh tube, to the point of the blockage to “prop open” the artery.
Interventional cardiology is the process of unclogging clogged arteries, using various tools and techniques that have been developed over the last 30 years and have truly changed the entire face of healthcare, in relationship to heart disease treatment. — Christopher U. Cates, M.D., FSCAI Emory University Hospital, Atlanta What do interventional cardiologists do? Answer: Interventional cardiologists are cardiologists who have had very special training in how to assess patients, open up arteries, and keep them open, but they provide the entire spectrum of care. — Steven R. Bailey, M.D., FSCAI Secretary, The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Interim Chief of Cardiology Director of Interventional Cardiology Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio How has interventional cardiology changed the treatment of heart attack?
Interventional Cardiology refers to various non-surgical, invasive procedures for treating cardiovascular disease. Interventional cardiologists treat narrowed arteries often caused by coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, or peripheral vascular disease. They use catheters, thin, flexible tubes, to get inside blood vessels for diagnostic tests or to repair damaged vessels or other heart structures, often avoiding the need for surgery. Interventional cardiologists can also close holes in the heart, open narrowed heart valves, take biopsies of the heart muscle, and treat blockages in vessels in organs besides the heart.
The interventional cardiologist at the Athens Heart Center diagnoses and treats your heart problems with advanced techniques and procedures without the need for major surgery or a hospital stay. Today treatments without major surgery are safer and more effective than ever before. However, our doctors may recommend major surgery in some cases for patients with severe heart problems.
Interventional cardiology refers to various non-surgical procedures for treating cardiovascular disease. Interventional cardiologists use catheters – thin, flexible tubes – to get inside blood vessels for diagnostic tests or to repair damaged vessels or other heart structures, often avoiding the need for surgery.
