Interventional Cardiology

This cardiac subspecialty uses minimally invasive, catheter-based technologies in a cath lab to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (CAD). The main focus in on percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) to revascularize patients with CAD that is causing blockages resulting in ischemia or myocardial infarction. PCI mainly consists of angioplasty and implanting stents. Interventional cardiology has greatly expanded in scope over recent years to include a number of transcatheter structural heart interventions.

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Assessing coronary stenting complications

For a long time, physicians and researchers have understood coronary stenting may lead to complications and future surgeries. A recent study suggests the risk may be higher than previously thought.

Subsequent surgery common following coronary stenting

Nearly 15 percent of patients who received coronary stents during a PCI underwent another surgery within a year of the procedure and 40 percent had surgery within five years, according to a population-based, multicenter study. Nearly 80 percent of the surgeries were noncardiac in nature.

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[ARTICLE] Building a Protected PCI Program: The Community Hospital Approach

Offered in cooperation with Abiomed

Despite its name, Bakersfield Heart Hospital offers more service lines than just those under its cardiovascular umbrella.

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Acute kidney injury is common in patients undergoing vascular surgery

Nearly half of patients undergoing vascular surgery had perioperative acute kidney injury, which was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality, according to a 10-year analysis of procedures at a tertiary care teaching hospital.

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Society of Thoracic Surgeons releases CABG guidelines

Clinicians performing CABG should use arteries from the chest and forearm instead of veins from the leg in certain patients, according to guidelines from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).

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Boston Scientific voluntarily recalls the Chariot guiding sheath

Boston Scientific announced on Dec. 9 that it had voluntarily recalled its Chariot guiding sheath after receiving 14 complaints of shaft separation. The FDA classified it as a Class 1 recall, which is the most serious type of recall.

Renal dysfunction before CABG increases costs and healthcare utilization

A database analysis found that patients undergoing CABG had higher costs and hospital resource utilization if they had renal dysfunction before undergoing surgery.

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Registry provides real world data on TAVR procedures

The Nov. 30 release of data from a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) registry provided clinicians, patients and payers with robust, real world information on a procedure that’s becoming more popular.

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