Cardiovascular Services & Procedures

Atherectomy

▸ Procedure performed to treat blockages in the arteries. The narrowed arteries are widened by inserting a catheter carrying a device such as a rotating drill or a cutter into the artery.

Balloon Angioplasty

▸ Also known as PTCA or coronary angioplasty. This is a procedure used to treat blockages in the coronary arteries. A catheter with a small balloon is inserted into the blocked artery and dilated to open the artery that supplies the heart muscle with blood..

Cardiac Catheterization

▸ A procedure that examines the heart and is used to help physicians diagnose a heart problem and choose the most effective treatment. During this procedure, a physician can measure pressures inside the heart, evaluate the arteries delivering blood to the heart, and determine how well the heart is pumping. This is sometimes called a coronary angiogram. (This procedure is commonly done through the femoral artery in the groin. A new technique—transradial catheterization—allows access through the wrist.)

Coronary Stent

▸ A cylindrical, wire mesh device that is placed by a catheter into a previously blocked artery to help keep it open. 

Electrophysiologic Studies

▸ An electrophysiology (EP) study is a test performed to assess your heart's electrical system or activity and is used to diagnose abnormal heartbeats or arrhythmia.

Implantable Defibrillator Placement & Management

▸ An ICD is a small electronic device, about the size of a deck of cards, that is placed inside the body. It constantly monitors your heart rhythm. If it senses a dangerous rapid heart rhythm, it delivers one or more pulses or shocks to the heart and restores a more normal rhythm.

Laser Angioplasty

▸ A procedure performed to open blockages in the arteries. A catheter with a fiber-optic probe is inserted into the blocked artery and an intense, highly concentrated beam of light passes through the catheter and heats the probe. The heat generated by the probe helps vaporize the plaque.