Interventional Cardiology

What is Interventional Cardiology?

Interventional cardiology is a subspecialty of cardiology that focuses on diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases using minimally invasive procedures. Interventional cardiologists use catheters, which are thin, flexible tubes, to perform a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures inside the blood vessels and heart. These procedures often involve the use of imaging techniques such as X-rays and ultrasound to guide the catheters and ensure precision.

Interventional cardiology encompasses a range of procedures designed to diagnose and treat heart and vascular conditions. The main types of treatments in interventional cardiology include:

1. Angioplasty (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention – PCI):
   • Angioplasty involves using a balloon-tipped catheter to open narrowed or blocked coronary arteries. The balloon is inflated at the site of the blockage to widen the artery and restore blood flow to the heart.
2. Stenting:
   • Stents are small, mesh-like tubes that are inserted into the arteries during angioplasty to keep them open. Drug-eluting stents release medication to prevent re-narrowing of the arteries, while bare-metal stents do not have this coating.
3. Atherectomy:
   • Atherectomy is a procedure that removes plaque buildup from the walls of the arteries. Different devices, such as rotational, directional, or laser atherectomy, can be used to shave or vaporize the plaque.
4. Valvuloplasty:
   • Valvuloplasty is the dilation of a narrowed heart valve using a balloon catheter. It is often used to treat conditions such as aortic stenosis or mitral stenosis.
5. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR):
   • TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure to replace a diseased aortic valve with a new valve inserted through a catheter. It is an alternative to open-heart surgery for patients with severe aortic stenosis.
6. Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair:
   • This procedure involves using a catheter-based approach to repair a leaking mitral valve, often with the use of a device such as the MitraClip, which clips the valve leaflets together to reduce regurgitation.
7. Coronary Thrombectomy:
   • Coronary thrombectomy involves removing a blood clot from a coronary artery using a specialized catheter, which helps to restore blood flow and prevent heart damage during a heart attack.
8. Peripheral Angioplasty:
   • Similar to coronary angioplasty, peripheral angioplasty is used to open blocked arteries in areas other than the heart, such as the legs, kidneys, or neck, to improve blood flow and relieve symptoms.
9. Septal Defect Closure:
   • Septal defect closure is a procedure to repair holes in the heart’s septum, such as atrial septal defects (ASDs) or ventricular septal defects (VSDs), using a catheter-delivered device to seal the hole.
10. Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR):
    • EVAR is a minimally invasive procedure to repair an abdominal or thoracic aortic aneurysm by placing a stent graft inside the aneurysm through a catheter to reinforce the weakened artery wall.