Since catheter-based heart procedures are minimally invasive, patients recover quickly and often can be released from the hospital in as little as 24 hours. A thin tube called a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel through a very small incision and guided up to the heart. The physician tracks the course of the catheter by watching it on a fluoroscope, which displays the blood vessels on a viewing screen. Catheters are often equipped with special devices that allow the cardiac surgeon to open a clogged artery or insert a stent. 

• Angioplasty - A specially designed balloon catheter with a small balloon tip is guided to a blockage or narrowing of an artery. Once in place, the balloon is inflated to compress the fatty matter into the artery wall and stretch the artery open to increase blood flow through the blood vessel.
• Balloon valvuloplasty- A balloon catheter with a small balloon tip is inflated to increase blood flow through one of heart’s valves.
• Catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmias  – The destruction of tissue that causes arrhythmias or irregular heart beats, so that a normal heart beat can be restored.
• Peripheral arterial disease – Treatments open a narrowed area and increase blood flow to arteries that carry blood away from the heart to arms, legs or organs. A stent may be used to support the artery.
• Stenting – A small wire mesh tube, inserted after angioplasty, that provides support inside the artery.

Check out our virtual tour!