Interventional Cardiology

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.

The Interventional Cardiology Program at We Care India partner hospitals includes a team of dedicated interventional cardiologists, nurses, and technicians.

They provide the highest quality of care to patients experiencing the following :

• Undiagnosed chest pain syndromes
• Chronic angina
• Unstable angina
• Acute myocardial infarction
• Valvular heart disease
• Congestive heart failure

Many patients experiencing the above conditions benefit from cardiac catheterization - using angioplasty and stenting-for the relief of blockages in the heart. Our program's angioplasty/stent success rate, which ranks among the best cardiovascular centers nationwide, is more than 95 percent and its complication rate below 3 percent. Fewer than one half of one percent of the patients treated by angioplasty/stents requires emergency bypass surgery.

The following tests and procedures are performed in-house by our outstanding interventional cardiologists and staff :

• Diagnostic and Therapeutic Interventional catheterization
• Coronary Stents
• Angioplasty
• Rotablator
• Thrombolectomy
• Balloon Valvuloplasty
• Cardiac biopsy
• Brachytherapy
• Closure of patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defects with CardioSEAL®
  and the Amplatzer Septal Occluder System

Interventional cardiologists at the We Care India partner hospital are dedicated full-time to interventional cardiology and diagnostic cardiac catheterization procedures and perform nearly 11,000 procedures each year, including 1,000 interventions (stents, balloons, etc.). Only faculty members from the Interventional Cardiology Program are permitted to perform interventional cardiology procedures at the We Care India partner hospital

What types of heart disease are treated with interventional cardiology ?

Interventional cardiologists treat narrowed arteries and weakened heart valves – often caused by coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, or peripheral vascular disease.

Coronary artery disease is the narrowing of the coronary arteries, the tubes which supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen. This narrowing of the arteries is caused by atherosclerosis – the buildup of fatty deposits, cholesterol, calcium, and plaque on the inner surface of the arteries. Atherosclerosis restricts blood flow to the heart, which can lead to heart attack or other heart problems. Symptoms may include angina (intermittent chest pain), shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and/or weakness.

Heart Valve Disease involves heart valves that are not working correctly to regulate the flow of blood through the heart chambers. This can arise from birth defects or through damage by rheumatic fever, bacterial infection, or heart attacks. Valves also can degenerate with the normal aging process. To compensate, your heart must pump harder, and may be unable to supply adequate blood circulation to the rest of your body. Two common forms of heart valve disease are aortic valve stenosis and mitral valve regurgitation. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling of the ankles and legs, fatigue, dizziness, and/or fainting.

Peripheral Vascular Disease involves the other arteries that run throughout your body. Like the coronary arteries in your heart, these vessels can become clogged and hardened through atherosclerosis, and can increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke, or limb loss. Symptoms may also include pain in the leg muscles (particularly calves and thighs) and/or severe aching pain in your toes or feet at night.

What is a drug-coated stent ?

A stent is a mesh metal tube inserted after angioplasty to keep the artery propped open. Drug-coated stents (also called drug-eluting stents) provide an additional benefit: They release a medication that prevents scarring during the first few weeks after insertion, when scarring is most likely to occur. With traditional stents, about 20% of patients who undergo angioplasty experience restenosis – scarring of tissue around the stent – which can narrow or block the artery again.

Use of a drug-coated stent dramatically lowers the patient's risk of needing another procedure due to restenosis. Although drug-coated stents were just approved by the FDA in April 2003, cardiac patients at We Care India partner hospital have had access to these devices for years, through clinical trials. We Care India partner hospital physicians have been pioneers in all phases of the development of drug-coated stents, and continue to participate in and direct clinical trials offering new generations of these devices to patients.

Who are the experts in interventional cardiology ?

The Interventional Cardiology team of physicians at We Care India partner hospital are world-renowned leaders in their field – utilizing state-of-the-art technology and procedures, many of which have been developed and tested at We Care India partner hospital.

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