by
Robert Garment, Executive Editor | March 16, 2016
From the March 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
From an interventional cardiology perspective, Hilliard notes, “currently, the most exciting new development is percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR).” The technique is also known as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), and it is the replacement of the aortic valve of the heart through the blood vessels (as opposed to valve replacement by open heart surgery). In the future, Hilliard expects to see additional therapies to treat more valvular heart conditions being perfected.
Cardiac MRI
Dr. David Kandzari, an interventional cardiologist at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, points to cardiac MRI as a powerful tool for informing decision-making regarding the revascularization of coronary arteries for his patients with advanced coronary heart disease.
Ad Statistics
Times Displayed: 46666
Times Visited: 1311 Ampronix, a Top Master Distributor for Sony Medical, provides Sales, Service & Exchanges for Sony Surgical Displays, Printers, & More. Rely on Us for Expert Support Tailored to Your Needs. Email info@ampronix.com or Call 949-273-8000 for Premier Pricing.
For example, he uses cardiac MRI to determine whether there’s living heart tissue downstream from very diseased coronary arteries. Kandzari notes that this is a very common situation in patients with congestive heart failure. “Through imaging of the heart muscle downstream from blocked coronary arteries, cardiac MRI may be useful to help inform whether selected patients may benefit from stent revascularization. If the heart function is weakened, but still viable, then opening the artery may strengthen the heart contractility and improve symptoms. In contrast, if the affected heart muscle is complete scar tissue, then a revascularization procedure will not provide benefit and is therefore not indicated,” says Kandzari, who serves as the interventional topic coordinator for ACC’s annual meeting.
Cardiac MRI can also be used to determine whether bypass surgery or percutaneous revascularization with angioplasty and a stent procedure is a better fit for his patients. There are three major arteries to the heart, he points out. If a patient has disease in all three arteries, the routine recommendation would be bypass surgery. However, if one or two of the arteries is nonviable, then the risks of bypass surgery may outweigh its benefit. If that’s the case, he may treat the two viable areas with a less invasive procedure like angioplasty and stenting.
