Heart Care Services
There are a number of interventional cardiovascular procedures that your doctor may choose to diagnose and/or treat your condition. Interventional cardiology procedures are also referred to as minimally invasive because they do not involve the extensive surgery of open-heart procedures like coronary artery bypass or valve replacement. A wide array of interventional treatments are available to patients at St. Lucie Medical Center for conditions that block the flow of blood through the arteries in the heart and other vessels in the body.
We have installed the latest, state-of-the-art technology and digital imaging equipment in our catheterization labs. Using the high quality images produced by this technology, physicians can see clearly inside the body to diagnose cardiovascular conditions and decide how best to treat them.
Diagnostic Catheterization
If your symptoms and diagnostic test results indicate the possibility of coronary artery disease, you may be scheduled for a diagnostic catheterization. Your cardiologist uses a tiny, hollow tube called a catheter to help diagnose problems in the coronary arteries. After a sedative, the doctor puts a catheter into an artery in your arm, groin or wrist. The latter is called a radial approach, and a growing number of physicians are choosing this approach. For eligible patients, it means a decreased chance of complications and a shorter and more comfortable recovery.
During your heart catheterization, your cardiologist watches a high definition video screen and injects a dye through the catheter into the arteries. The doctor watches how well the dye flows through the arteries and can see any blockages. Depending on the size, type and location, your doctor may choose to medication or a minimally invasive, interventional procedure as treatment.
Primary Coronary Intervention
This procedure is sometimes performed immediately following a heart catheterization. The doctor inserts a small balloon-tipped catheter into the area of the artery that is blocked. He or she then inflates the balloon to press plaque against the artery walls. Moving the plaque out of the way allows the blood to flow freely through the artery again. This procedure is also referred to as a balloon angioplasty.
Arteries that are reopened may need help to stay open, and your doctor may choose to place a stent inside the artery wall. A stent is a mesh-like device made of surgical stainless steel. Depending on your individual case, your cardiologist may choose a drug-coated stent or a stent that is not drug-coated. As in a heart cath, the doctor inserts the catheter into the artery. When he or she finds the blockage, the balloon is inflated. The inflated balloon expands the stent to prop open the inside of the artery, allowing blood to flow freely to the heart muscle. The stent is permanent, acting as a scaffold to hold the artery open.
Transradial Cardiac Catheterization and Angioplasty/Stenting
What is transradial cardiac catheterization?
Transradial cardiac catheterization offers a less invasive, lower-risk option because the procedure is performed through the wrist rather than the groin. This allows for a quicker recovery time and a shorter hospital stay. Immediately after the procedure, patients should be able to sit up, eat, and walk. In contrast, after a traditional cardiac catheterization, patients must lie flat for two to six hours, in order to ensure that bleeding will not occur from the site.
The benefits of the transradial technique include:
- Reduces bleeding complications
- Shortens hospital stays
- Improves the patient’s experience
The doctors of Heart & Family Health Institute are now providing Cardiac Catheterization and Angioplasty/Stenting through the wrist to eligible patients of the community at St. Lucie Medical Center.
Our Doctors
For more information about this procedure, please call (772) 398-7805.