Catheterization

Since 1990, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center has helped over 15,000 patients in southern New Jersey with cardiac catheterization. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ARMC's cath lab is the only provider of emergency catheterization in the region - that's why we've been designated as the State of New Jersey's first and only Chest Pain Center . Because quick treatment is critical to minimizing a heart attack's damage, we can transport patients experiencing heart attacks from other hospitals, while alerting our rapid response team of cath lab doctors and staff.

+ Cardiac Catheterization

The cardiac team at ARMC also performs outpatient catheterization. Using new devices such as drug-eluting stents and the latest techniques, the cath lab team offers a host of services to clear clogged arteries, possibly delaying or even preventing the need for heart surgery.

Through the leadership of Howard Levite, MD, chief of the cardiac catheterization laboratory and a 15-year veteran of New York University Medical Center, ARMC has become a center of excellence for cardiac catheterization.

Catheterization Diagnosis

Used to diagnose coronary artery blockages, leaky valves, holes in the heart and other heart problems, catheterization works this way: interventional cardiologists insert a thin plastic tube, called a catheter, into an artery in the arm or leg. Once the catheter is inside the body, they use special digital X-ray equipment to guide it through a series of connecting arteries and into the heart's arteries. This X-ray equipment also allows the doctors to see where heart problems exist.

If and when a problem, such as a blockage, is found the interventional cardiologists can often treat it right then and there. Treatments can vary from balloon angioplasty with drug-eluting stents to rotational atherectomy.

Catheterization Treatment

High-quality cardiac catheterization is available close to home. ARMC 's cath lab professionals are both caring and experienced: we've treated over 15,000 patients since 1990. In general, hospitals and doctors that perform higher volumes of procedures experience lower rates of complications. We use what has fast become the gold standard of angioplastic treatments: drug-eluting stents. And we're dedicated to mastering the latest treatment techniques, such as "kissing" stent placement.

As New Jersey's first and only state-designated Chest Pain Center, ARMC offers rapid transport and intervention to patients experiencing heart attacks. But the majority of catheterizations are done on an outpatient basis. Patients are admitted to our new same day procedure suite in the morning and are generally discharged to home that very afternoon.

During the procedure, your interventional cardiologist will view your heart's vessels, and when possible, take steps to correct any problems found. Your cardiologist may employ one of the following techniques:

• Angioplasty and Stenting
• Directional Coronary Atherectomy
• Intravascular Pressure Measurement
• Peripheral Vascular Stenting
• Rotational Atherectomy
• Transluminal Extraction Atherectomy
  

Angioplasty and Stenting

	Click on the image for more information about angioplasty

Angioplasty is a nonsurgical treatment technique that helps doctors open clogged or narrowed coronary arteries. Cardiologists inflate a special balloon catheter inside an artery. The balloon compresses built-up plaque and creates a wider channel for blood to flow through. Most patients also have stents placed during angioplasty. As the balloon inflates, it expands a tiny mesh coil or tube, implanting it in the artery. A stent acts as a kind of scaffold to hold an artery open. In recent years, researchers discovered that stents coated with anti-inflammatory drugs (also called drug-eluting or drug-coated stents) stayed open longer, reduced inflammation and scarring in affected blood vessels, which meant that the treated blood vessels were less likely to re-narrow (restenose).

One of the newest techniques is the implantation of "simultaneous kissing stents," which allows your doctor to clear away plaque at the intersection of a main coronary artery and a smaller, connected vessel. The technique, very ably performed by ARMC's interventional cardiologists, is used to clear plaque lesions branching off the coronary artery - which have historically been difficult to treat. In this procedure, your doctor simultaneously expands two drug-eluting stents, one in the main artery, and the second in the side vessel so that there is no gap between the two where scar tissue could grow.

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Directional Coronary Atherectomy (DCA)
During this procedure, a tiny instrument inserted with a catheter shaves plaque away from the walls of the coronary arteries to restore blood flow to the heart. The plaque is then removed from the artery when the device is withdrawn.

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Intravascular Pressure Measurement
During this procedure, cardiologists insert a pressure wire into an artery to determine whether a specific lesion is the cause of decreased blood flow. This procedure can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of catheterization and stenting.

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Peripheral Vascular Stenting
Cardiologists use catheters to unclog blocked arteries in neck, legs or arms. A balloon attached to a catheter inflates and expands a stent -- a tiny mesh or slotted tube, or coil that holds an artery open -- in a blocked artery, opening up the artery to allow greater blood flow.

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Rotational Atherectomy
Cardiologists insert a catheter equipped with a high-speed rotational "burr" into your coronary arteries. The burr is coated with microscopic diamond particles and rotates at high speed, breaking up blockages into very small fragments that the body removes naturally.

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Transluminal Extraction Atherectomy ( TEC )
During this procedure, cardiologists use a special catheter with rotating cutter blades at the tip to remove blockages. The resulting debris is vacuumed into the catheter and removed from the body.

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For more information:

Information about Cardiac Catheterization
609-748-4050

General Information about the Heart Institute at ARMC
1-888-569-1000

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