Interventional Cardiology
Bethesda Heart Hospital’s number one priority is the health and well being of you and your family. We work collaboratively with you, your primary care physician, cardiologists, and other specialists to provide effective diagnosis and treatment.
The Bethesda Heart Hospital provides interventional cardiology services with advanced technology for the diagnosis and treatment of heart and vascular conditions. Equipped with two cardiac labs and one electrophysiology lab, Bethesda Heart Hospital performs more than 2,000 interventional procedures a year. All of our catheterization and electrophysiology labs are equipped with advanced technology, including digital subtraction imaging, intravascular ultrasound, intracardiac echocardiography, and coronary flow wire, all of which enhance accuracy and accessibility of data for physicians caring for our patients. Each lab features advanced image quality and radiation-lowering equipment for patient and staff safety.
Our program provides urgent access directly to our cardiac catheterization labs 24 hours daily. Our door to balloon time consistently averages less than 77 minutes which is far below the national standard of 90 minutes.
At Bethesda, we have access to the advanced generation of all interventional devices including cardiac, carotid, and vascular stents, which means you are being treated with quality technology that is available for your care.
Interventional cardiology diagnoses and treats heart conditions using minimally invasive techniques often involving catheters, which are small, flexible tubes inserted into the body. The catheter is carefully threaded into the heart using an x-ray machine that produces real-time images (fluoroscopy). Once the catheter is in place, contrast material is injected and images of your heart are taken.
Angioplasty, also known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), is a procedure in which a narrowed section of a coronary artery is widened with a balloon catheter. In most cases a stent is placed at the same time. With these techniques, the physicians on the medical staff at Bethesda Heart Hospital can often achieve results similar to those of more invasive methods like open surgery, while minimizing pain, recovery time, and complications.
Our services include:
- Advanced generation of stents
- Atrial septal defect (ASD) and patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure
- Balloon valve repair
- Carotid stenting
- Coronary angioplasty and stenting
- Coronary atherectomy
- Peripheral angiography and angioplasty
- Peripheral atherectomy
We frequently provide second opinions to patients seen at other facilities and would be happy to provide this service if desired.