Our interventional Treatments & services include:
Cardiac catheterization
A cardiac catheterization (cardiac cath) is a procedure that measures how well your heart is working, whether you have blocked arteries, or diseased valves or muscle. During a cardiac cath procedure, a thin tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery in your arm or leg and fed into the heart. Instruments can go through this tube to measure pressure, take blood or tissue samples, or inject dye for an x-ray of the heart (angiogram).
Catheterization also enables surgical procedures in the heart, such as stent or balloon placement or valve replacement.
NEW—Cardiac Radial Lounge for cardiac cath patients
CMC is proud to join major heart centers around the country by now offering a Cardiac Radial Lounge as a best practice in caring for cardiac catherization patients. The six-bay lounge is a modernized recovery area that acts as a pre and post procedural area for outpatient elective cardiac catherizations. Located on level A, next to the cath labs, the lounge offers patients convenience and comfort, enhancing their overall experience.
Coronary angioplasty, stenting and atherectomy
Catheterization allows for a number of procedures to clear blockages in coronary (heart) arteries. In an angioplasty, a balloon like device is placed into the artery and opened to clear a blockage. Similarly, a coronary stent can be placed in a blocked artery to restore blood flow to the heart. This mesh like tube is placed in the artery to widen the opening. During an atherectomy, a scraping tool is placed through the catheter to clear plaque from the arterial wall. During these procedures, the cardiologist watches an x-ray or other live image of the heart to guide the catheter and the tools. These procedures are common treatments when someone has had a heart attack.
Coronary intravascular ultrasound and flow measurement
An intravascular ultrasound is a way for cardiologists to “see” inside an artery. This imaging can help guide a procedure or give a clearer picture of damage to the artery from disease or a cardiac trauma (such as a heart attack). An intravascular ultrasound may be used to measure the artery, detect blood clots or check that a stent has been placed properly.
Peripheral vascular angioplasty and intervention
Similar to procedures to clear blockages in the coronary arteries, angioplasty, stenting, and atherectomies can be performed to treat peripheral vascular disease. These procedures remove or push away the plaque that causes peripheral arteries to harden (a condition called atherosclerosis) and helps improve blood flow throughout the body.
Our facilities include state-of-the-art catheterization labs and a hybrid operating room. The hybrid OR enables our interventional cardiologists to perform a catheter-based intervention in a surgical setting, allowing the cardiac surgeons to assist immediately if heart surgery is needed.
Shockwave IVL – a new treatment in Coronary Artery Disease
Complex calcium can be challenging when trying to treat coronary artery disease (CAD). The presence of calcium increases the complexity of CAD and the effectiveness of treatment. The technology of lithotripsy—using shockwaves or lasers to break up hardened masses in the body—has been used effectively for more than 30 years to treat kidney and gall stones. This same approach can be used to treat complex calcium in the coronary arteries. CMC is proud to be named one of three sites in the Northeast—and the only one north of Boston—to provide a new technology called the Shockwave Coronary IVL System. Shockwave IVL is an energy-based catheter which creates sonic pressure waves that travel through soft tissue, safely cracking calcium in the diseased artery. This technology represents a major advance in the treatment of CAD. Learn more: