Interventional Cardiology
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Risk Stratification and the Benefits of PCI vs Medical Therapy
Conscious Sedation
Preparation of the Patient for Diagnostic Catheterization
Preparation of the Patient for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)
Technical Aspects of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Obtaining Venous and Arterial Access
Equipment Used in Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterizaiton
Hemodynamic Assessment in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI): Basic Principles and Guidelines
Functional assesement of coronary lesions
Coronary Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR))
Coronary flow reserve(CFR)
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)
Equipment Used in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Pharmacotherapy to Support PCI
Angiography and PCI in Special Patient Populations
Management Of Specific Lesion Types
High Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)
Hybrid Procedures
Vascular Closure Devices
Post PCI Medical Management of the Interventional Patient
Non Coronary Interventions in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Complications During and Following Cardiac Catheterization and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Coronary stent thrombosis
Transfusion in ACS management
Revascularization in the "No Option" Patient
Radiation Safety
Interventional cardiology is a branch of the medical specialty of cardiology that deals specifically with the catheter based treatment of structural heart diseases. A large number of procedures can be performed on the heart by catheterization. This most commonly involves the insertion of a sheath into the femoral artery (but, in practice, any large peripheral artery or vein) and cannulating the heart under X-ray visualization (most commonly fluoroscopy, a real-time x-ray).
Procedures performed by specialists in interventional cardiology:
- Angioplasty (PTCA, Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty) - for coronary atherosclerosis
- Valvuloplasty - dilation of narrowed cardiac valves (usually mitral, aortic or pulmonary)
- Procedures for congenital heart disease - insertion of occluders for ventricular or atrial septal defects, occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus, angioplasty of great vessels
- Emergency angioplasty and stenting of occluded coronary vessels in the setting of acute myocardial infarction
Invasive procedures of the heart to treat arrhythmias are performed by specialists in clinical cardiac electrophysiology
Surgery of the heart is done by the specialty of cardiothoracic surgery. Some interventional cardiology procedures are only performed when there is cardiothoracic surgery expertise in the hospital, in case of complications.