Interventional Cardiology

The interventional cardiology unit consists of three catheterization laboratories furnished with the latest digital equipment, for diagnosis and treatment.

For patients undergoing the procedure, a catheter is inserted through a small incision in the groin or forearm, and subsequently advanced through the arteries until it reaches the heart.

The catheter can then be used to diagnose heart conditions including coronary artery disease and defective heart valves. and assess the size and function of the heart and its valves.

A coronary angiogram that will detect blockages in the coronary arteries can be obtained by injecting a small amount of radiographic dye. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intravascular Doppler examinations are used to obtain anatomic and physiologic information of the coronary arteries.

Cardiac catheterization is also used to treat coronary heart disease by interventional procedures, such as:

§         The interventional cardiology unit consists of three catheterization laboratories furnished with the latest digital equipment, for diagnosis and treatment.

For patients undergoing the procedure, a catheter is inserted through a small incision in the groin or forearm, and subsequently advanced through the arteries until it reaches the heart. The catheter can then be used to diagnose heart conditions including coronary artery disease and defective heart valves. and assess the size and function of the heart and its valves. A coronary angiogram that will detect blockages in the coronary arteries can be obtained by injecting a small amount of radiographic dye. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intravascular Doppler examinations are used to obtain anatomic and physiologic information of the coronary arteries.

Cardiac catheterization is also used to treat coronary heart disease by interventional procedures, such as:

Balloon angioplasty (dilatation of narrowed vessels) of even the most difficult and complex lesions

§         Implantation of stainless steel and nitinol stents (metal mesh to support the dilated vessel from within), stents coated with different drugs and stents covered with biocompatible plastic sheets

§         Radioactive brachytherapy (intravascular radiation to prevent recurrent narrowing of dilated vessels)

§         Directional atherectomy and Rotablation (drills to open complex and calcified lesions)

§         Balloon valvuloplasty (dilatation of stenosed valves)

§         Closure of atrial septal defects by up-to-date devices

§         Endomyocardial biopsies to diagnose myocardial diseases and follow-up post heart transplant patients

These procedures are performed both on elective patients and those with acute coronary syndromes.

As recommended by recent medical trials, patients with myocardial infarction undergo opening of their occluded arteries during the acute phase.  In the interventional cardiology unit over 2,500 catheterizations are carried out each year,1200 of which are interventional therapeutic procedures.

All procedures are performed by a highly-trained staff consisting of cardiologists, nurses and technicians, who maintain a high level of academic expertise and consistently continue their clinical training to stay at the forefront of the field.