Hospital Procedures

The Cardiologists of Columbia Cardiology offer your preference of Providence Hospital or Lexington Medical Center for the performance of all necessary hospital procedures.

Cardiac Catheterization

Cardiac Catheterization is an invasive imaging procedure performed at the hospital to diagnose heart conditions at a more detailed level than other in-office imaging procedures. A long, thin tube called a catheter is threaded to the heart through a main artery, most commonly the femoral artery at the groin. Once the catheter arrives at the heart, a dye is released into the heart so that all vessels and chambers of the heart can be viewed through x-ray. From the images, the cardiologist will determine whether or not other procedures need to be performed during the cath such as coronary stenting or coronary angioplasty.

Coronary Stenting

If the catheterization images show severely narrowed or blocked arteries in the heart, coronary stenting may be performed to expand the compromised arteries. A stent is a tube implanted into the blocked or narrowed artery and once placed correctly, it expands to allow blood flow through that artery again. Coronary Stenting may only be performed by an Interventional Cardiologist.

Coronary Angioplasty

Coronary Angioplasty is a technique also used to treat severely narrowed or blocked arteries in the heart, primarily caused by large plaque build-ups (atherosclerosis). During an angioplasty procedure, an empty and collapsed balloon is inserted on a catheter and threaded to the problem area of the heart. Once the balloon is in the narrowed locations, it is inflated using high water pressure to crush the plaque and in turn improve the blood flow. The balloon is then collapsed and removed.

Peripheral Vascular Intervention

Peripheral Vascular Interventions are performed the same way and for the same reasons as coronary interventions. Instead of the therapeutic procedures occurring in the arteries of the heart, they instead occur in occluded arteries in the extremities. Both the placement of stents and the use of balloon angioplasty are ways that the peripheral arteries can be opened for improved blood flow. 

Bi-V ICD/Pacemaker Implantations

Pacemakers and ICDs are implanted in the hospital through an outpatient procedure. Patients are awake throughout the procedure. Using local anesthesia, your doctor will make a small incision in the upper chest and guide the lead wires through a vein and into your heart. The cardiologist will then connect the lead wires to the pacemaker or ICD and then program the device settings. Finally, the device will be inserted beneath the skin and the incision in you chest will be closed. The difference between a pacemaker or ICD and a Bi-V Pacemaker or ICD is that the Bi-V device has a third lead that connects directly to the left ventricle part of the heart. This exists to help patients with heart failure because it forces both the right and left sides of the heart to beat stronger and more in sync.

Atrial Septal Defect Closure

An atrial septal defect is a hole is the muscle wall in between the heart’s two upper chambers. In order to close the hole, a catheter is used to thread the perfectly sized ASD closure device through a main artery to the heart. The device is then inserted into the muscle wall hole and becomes a permanent implant.