Penn Medicine interventional cardiologists are experts in coronary interventions that diagnose and treat an extensive range of heart problems. The experts in the Penn Interventional Cardiology Program offer state-of-the-art tools and techniques to improve heart function and blood flow with a minimally invasive approach.
What are Coronary Interventions?
Coronary interventions are minimally invasive procedures that use flexible, hollow tubes (catheters) to access the heart's blood vessels through a small incision in the wrist, arm, neck or groin. With interventional techniques, we can open blocked arteries, measure the pressure in heart chambers or obtain a sample of heart tissue. Without an interventional approach, performing these procedures would require open-heart surgery, which uses a large incision through the chest and breastbone to access the heart.
Interventional cardiologists use these techniques to treat a range of conditions, such as narrowed or blocked arteries, blood clots, damaged heart valves or heart failure. Interventional heart procedures can often eliminate the need for surgery while effectively treating heart problems. These techniques are especially useful for older people and anyone with underlying medical conditions that might make open-heart surgery risky.
Because coronary interventions require no large incision, people typically experience fewer complications, less pain and a faster recovery, including a shorter hospital stay.
Our interventional cardiologists offer a full range of interventional heart procedures, including:
Conditions We Treat with Coronary Interventions
Coronary interventions are useful for diagnosing and treating even complex and difficult-to-treat conditions. Most commonly, we use these techniques to diagnose or treat blocked coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply the heart with blood.
Many people have no symptoms of a blocked artery in early stages. As the blockage worsens, you may experience symptoms such as:
- Chest discomfort
- Fatigue
- Heart palpitations, or sensations of the heart racing
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling in your feet, ankles or abdomen
We treat a wide range of conditions with coronary interventions, including:
- Atrial fibrillation: The heart's upper two chambers (atria) don't beat in coordination with the lower two heart chambers (ventricles). This irregular heart rhythm can cause problems with blood flow.
- Cardiomyopathy: This heart muscle condition makes it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. Different types of cardiomyopathy, including dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, affect the heart differently.
- Chronic total occlusion (CTO): One or more coronary arteries, the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart, are severely blocked. This restricts blood flow to the heart, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath or heart palpitations.
- Coronary artery disease: The coronary arteries narrow, restricting blood flow the heart. Usually, this occurs due to plaque buildup in the coronary arteries.
- Heart failure: The heart doesn't pump blood as efficiently as it should. This may result in fluid buildup in the legs and the lungs. People may experience fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeats and leg swelling.
- Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD): One of the heart's blood vessels tears, reducing or completing blocking blood flow to the heart. SCAD is an emergency condition that requires timely treatment.
Coronary Interventions: The Penn Medicine Advantage
The experts in the Penn Interventional Cardiology Program offer advanced minimally invasive treatments for complex heart disease. Our team has a long history of innovation, often adopting new treatments years before they're widely available. When you choose our team, you benefit from:
- Extensive range of treatments: Our interventional cardiologists offer a full range of coronary treatments, including angioplasty and stenting, for even the most complex cases. We collaborate with cardiac surgeons using a combination of robotic surgery and stenting techniques to offer an advanced procedure called hybrid revascularization. This treatment allows us to clear multiple, severe blockages without open-heart surgery, an option that isn't widely available.
- Exceptional outcomes: Our success rates for angioplasty and stenting are above 95 percent, placing us among the best in the nation. We currently use the WATCHMAN device to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, leading to lower complication rates and better quality of life.
- Team-based care: Penn interventional cardiologists work with multiple specialists, including those in the Penn Cardiac Arrhythmia Program, Coronary Artery Disease Program and the Penn Heart Failure Program to being you the most effective treatment plan. We work closely with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia through the Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center to provide seamless care for adults with congenital heart disease.
- Clinical trial treatments: Our specialists were among the first in the nation to start using heart stents in the 1990s. We continue to stay at the forefront of coronary interventions by leading and participating in clinical trials, giving you access to the latest treatment options.
- Treatment for complex cases: Our Complex Higher-Risk Indicated Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (CHIP) Program is one of the only such programs in the Philadelphia region. We offer advanced treatments for patients with severely blocked arteries called chronic total occlusions (CTOs) who aren't good candidates for bypass surgery.
- Exclusive mechanical circulatory support options: Mechanical circulatory support includes devices that temporarily or permanently perform the work of the heart and lungs. We are one of only a few programs in the region to offer all mechanical circulatory support options, from intra-aortic balloon pumps to ventricular assistive devices and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
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