Interventional Cardiology

What is Interventional Cardiology?

Interventional cardiology is a non-surgical option that uses a small, flexible tube called a catheter to repair damaged or weakened vessels, narrowed arteries, or other affected parts of the heart structure. This procedure is frequently used to treat people having a heart attack.

Silver Cross Hospital Receiving Center

Silver Cross Hospital is a designated receiving center for facilities near by who do not have the tools and equipment necessary to treat patients who need emergent care for their heart problems.

Silver Cross Hospital Leadership in The Community

Not only is Silver Cross a receiving center for patients who require higher level of care, the team at Silver Cross also trains Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to respond to these emergencies and ensure patients are taken to a center that meets their needs. 

In the Community

Over the past two-decades Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has played an integral role in saving lives of those in our community by decreasing the time it takes for patients to receive lifesaving care for their hearts.  Our prehospital providers are trained in performing assessments on patients and determining the need for a 12 lead EKG (electrocardiogram) a noninvasive procedure that shows the electrical activity in the heart, which is an important tool in assisting our paramedics in determining if someone is having a heart attack.

Prehospital providers are trained on how to perform as well as how to read an EKG.  These are important skills to have when you are responding to an emergency.  Our paramedics are required to keep up on all and any updates from American Heart Association (AHA) as well as monthly educational offerings from the Silver Cross EMS System. 

Common Interventional Cardiology Treatments 

Angioplasty & Cardiac Stenting

A small balloon is placed in the narrow or blocked area of the artery and is then inflated and deflated to relieve the blockage and allow blood to flow freely to the heart. A small stent is sometimes placed in the artery to reduce the chance of blockage reoccurring. This procedure lasts approximately one to two hours.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)

Performed by an electrophysiologist, a small, lightweight device is placed inside the body to maintain and correct the heart’s rhythm.

Permanent Pacemaker Implants

A pacemaker is a small device that’s placed under the skin in your chest during a surgical procedure to help control an irregular heartbeat.

Chronic Total Occlusion (CTO)

A CTO is the complete blockage of one or more arteries with plaque. Interventional cardiologists perform complex percutaneous interventions (PCI) to open these blockages.