Memorial Cardiac & Vascular Institute
Cardiac Catheterization & Interventional Cardiology
Cardiac catheterization is a specialized diagnostic procedure in which catheters are inserted into the arteries or veins in the groin and advanced into or around the heart. Pictures (angiograms) are obtained of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (coronary angiography or arteriography), and measurements are made within the heart’s chambers to evaluate the heart valve and heart muscle function. Angiograms give information about the presence and extent of narrowing of the coronary arteries due to arteriosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries” or coronary artery disease). Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a procedure utilizing a miniaturized ultrasound probe in conjunction with coronary angiography to identify arteriosclerotic plaque.
Coronary balloon angioplasty and stenting (also referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI) are procedures performed by interventional cardiologists in cardiac catheterization laboratories to open obstructed areas in the coronary arteries. To perform angioplasty, a balloon on the tip of the catheter is inflated, which compresses the arteriosclerotic plaque and improves blood flow in the coronary artery. A stent is a small metal coil that is inserted in the artery to prevent recurrent narrowing (restenosis). Drug-eluting stents that are coated with medication to inhibit restenosis are widely used. When necessary before angioplasty or stenting, coronary atherectomy is performed to shave down or debulk heavy arteriosclerotic plaque. Coronary thrombectomy with the Angiojet® device removes clots from the coronary arteries by using suction from a high-pressure water source.
Memorial’s cardiac catheterization laboratory is the leader in Broward County, with more than 4,500 diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and percutaneous coronary interventions performed annually.
Our Rapid Response Heart Attack Team at Memorial Regional Hospital and Memorial Hospital West provides angioplasty and stenting to open acutely obstructed coronary arteries in select heart attack patients and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This emergency treatment is the most effective means of preserving heart muscle function when “minutes mean muscle.” Our Rapid Response Heart Attack Team is among the busiest in South Florida.
To maintain our world-class facility, we continue to expand and renovate the cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology and interventional radiology suites at Memorial Cardiac & Vascular Institute.
If you would like a referral to a physician, call Memorial Physician Referral Service toll-free at (800) 944-DOCS. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.