Interventional Cardiology

Interventional cardiology refers to the procedures used to restore blood flow to the heart, such as angioplasty.

Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) is very similar to a cardiac catheterization and uses a balloon catheter to open a blocked artery.  The main difference is a cardiac catheterization is used to diagnose or identify a heart problem, while angioplasty treats coronary artery disease.

Guided by radiology images, the cardiologist inserts a thin, balloon-tipped catheter into an arm or leg

PTCA Stands for   Percutaneous through the skin   Transluminal Within the lumen or artery   Coronary the artery which supplies the heart muscle   Angiolplasty remodeling the artery

artery and guides it to the heart.  The catheter is then positioned in the blocked artery, and the balloon is inflated and deflated several times to push the plaque or blockage back against the artery wall to open the artery and return the blood flow.  In many cases, a small stent or tube is then inserted in the artery and stays in place permanently to help keep the artery open. 

At WMHS, a second cardiac catheterization lab is being added on the Sacred Heart Campus for PTCA.  Local cardiologists Pradeep Kulkarni, Baljeet Mahal, and Anil Singh are skilled in PTCA, and will work with Kenneth Kent, M.D., to provide angioplasty services at WMHS.  

A team from the Cardiac Cath Lab at WMHS is now in training at the Washington Cardiology Center to learn how to assist the cardiologists with PTCA.  This team includes radiologist technologists Ed Golden, Michelle Graham, and Andy Salonish; cardiovascular technologist Ken Hamilton, registered nurses Theresa Espina, Vicki Habersack, Dawn Snyder, and Calvin Tracy.