Interventional cardiology is a relatively new field in medicine. The doctors within this field treat heart diseases through minimally invasive procedures through the use of catheters, stents, and balloons. Catheter are thin tube made up of several types of material depending on how it will be used. A stent on the other hand is a tube composed of metal that can remain within the body to keep a blood vessel open. Interventional cardiology is said to be first discovered by Andreas Gruentzig in 1977 when he widened part of an abnormally narrowed, a condition called stenosis, left anterior descending artery through the use of a balloon catheter.3 Previously any treatment of the heart required open heart surgery which put the patient in high risk
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It is a procedure in which a balloon catheter is inserted into vessels that have been damaged due to atherosclerosis, or build up of plaque and cholesterol in a certain part of a vessel, causing it to be narrower than normal. Atherosclerosis has to be treated immediately because it elevates blood pressure and prevents proper circulation of blood to all parts of the body. Specifically angioplasty can be divided into percutaneous coronary intervention, peripheral angioplasty, and renal artery angioplasty.2 Angioplasty is divided into these groups based on where the narrowed blood vessels are located. In percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as coronary angioplasty, narrowed coronary arteries, or vessels that directly give oxygen rich blood to the myocardium, are widened through the use of a balloon catheter. Peripheral angioplasty is used to widen blood vessels that are located outside the coronary arteries, such as the abdominal, and leg arteries. Renal artery angioplasty treats the atherosclerosis of the renal artery. Generally stents are also used in these procedures to make sure that the vessel remains widened.2 It used to be common for patients with myocardial infarction to be treated with thrombolytic drug, which dissolves blood clots. However it was shown through the study of 7739 thrombolytic eligible patients with S-segment elevation myocardial infarction( AMI), that those patients with …show more content…
A stenotic valve is a valve that has been narrowed due to excessive calcium. This can cause chest pain, chest tightness, heart palpitations, fatigue and shortness of breath.4 There are generally two types of valvuloplasty: Aortic valvuloplasty, and mitral valvuloplasty.4 These two procedures differ based on the type of valve that is being widened. For example, aortic valvuloplasty treats the narrowing of the aortic valve, or in other words the valve that is located between the left ventricle of the heart and the aorta. In this procedures a balloon catheter is inserted into the aortic valve and is then inflated. The aortic valve generally narrows and becomes stiff due to excessive calcium. Due to this obstruction, the heart will need to work harder in order to pump blood to the body. This will end up limiting the amount of blood that the heart can pump and may weaken the heart muscle.4 The same procedure is done for mitral valvuloplasty, however the mitral valve, the valve that lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle, is the valve that is being widened. In the 1950s, the most common way to treat a stenotic valve was to replace it with an artificial valve through open heart surgery. However this was too dangerous of a procedure and would lead to unexpected consequences like infection of the valve, bleeding complications, and
It is a procedure in which a balloon catheter is inserted into vessels that have been damaged due to atherosclerosis, or build up of plaque and cholesterol in a certain part of a vessel, causing it to be narrower than normal. Atherosclerosis has to be treated immediately because it elevates blood pressure and prevents proper circulation of blood to all parts of the body. Specifically angioplasty can be divided into percutaneous coronary intervention, peripheral angioplasty, and renal artery angioplasty.2 Angioplasty is divided into these groups based on where the narrowed blood vessels are located. In percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as coronary angioplasty, narrowed coronary arteries, or vessels that directly give oxygen rich blood to the myocardium, are widened through the use of a balloon catheter. Peripheral angioplasty is used to widen blood vessels that are located outside the coronary arteries, such as the abdominal, and leg arteries. Renal artery angioplasty treats the atherosclerosis of the renal artery. Generally stents are also used in these procedures to make sure that the vessel remains widened.2 It used to be common for patients with myocardial infarction to be treated with thrombolytic drug, which dissolves blood clots. However it was shown through the study of 7739 thrombolytic eligible patients with S-segment elevation myocardial infarction( AMI), that those patients with …show more content…
A stenotic valve is a valve that has been narrowed due to excessive calcium. This can cause chest pain, chest tightness, heart palpitations, fatigue and shortness of breath.4 There are generally two types of valvuloplasty: Aortic valvuloplasty, and mitral valvuloplasty.4 These two procedures differ based on the type of valve that is being widened. For example, aortic valvuloplasty treats the narrowing of the aortic valve, or in other words the valve that is located between the left ventricle of the heart and the aorta. In this procedures a balloon catheter is inserted into the aortic valve and is then inflated. The aortic valve generally narrows and becomes stiff due to excessive calcium. Due to this obstruction, the heart will need to work harder in order to pump blood to the body. This will end up limiting the amount of blood that the heart can pump and may weaken the heart muscle.4 The same procedure is done for mitral valvuloplasty, however the mitral valve, the valve that lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle, is the valve that is being widened. In the 1950s, the most common way to treat a stenotic valve was to replace it with an artificial valve through open heart surgery. However this was too dangerous of a procedure and would lead to unexpected consequences like infection of the valve, bleeding complications, and