Interventional Cardiology/ Radiology

There are two main interventions possible from this procedure:

Interventional Cardiology -- when a patient has chest pains, it is important to define the exact cause.  The patient is taken to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and through a catheter inserted in the groin, a wire is threaded up to the heart.  Dye is injected to visualize the coronary arteries.  If a blockage is found, the cardiologist will attempt to open the blockage with a stent that remains in the artery.  The patient's heart will now have a normal blood supply without the additional riskof open heart sugery.

Intervetional Radiology -- when a patient has internal bleeding, it is important to determine the exact location of the bleeding and to stop it as soon as possible.  The patient is taken to the Interventional Radiology Suite.  A catheter is threaded in through the groin and dye is injectred to visualize the location of the bleeding.  This is called an angiogram.  Once the bleeding vessel is located, very small coils are injected into it to stop the bleeding.  The hemorrhage is corrected without the additional risk of surgery.