To clinicInterventional cardiology is a type of minimally invasive diagnostics and treatment of blood vessels and the heart. All surgical manipulations are carried out through a small puncture in a vein or artery. A thin tube with a special tip is inserted into the vessel – a catheter. Most interventional procedures are performed through a catheter.
At the San Donato Clinic, doctors perform the following interventions:
- Coronary angiography;
- Angioplasty of peripheral vessels;
- Plastic surgery of the carotid arteries;
- Mitral and aortic valve replacement;
- Plastic surgery of the coronary arteries of the heart;
- Placement of stents;
- Reconstruction of the aortic and mitral valves.
Previously, such operations were performed on the open heart and blood vessels. This increased the risk of infection, bleeding and death in the postoperative period.
During the year, 6,000 patients are treated in the department. Thanks to modern equipment, the clinic successfully treats patients with acute and severe conditions, such as myocardial infarction.
Clinic equipment
The main cause of myocardial infarction is insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle. Blood supplies the heart through the coronary arteries. Spasm or atherosclerosis of these vessels leads to angina or heart attack.
For a complete diagnosis of coronary arteries in San Donato, the following methods are used:
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT);
- Intravascular ultrasound diagnostics (IVUS);
- Fractional flow reserve (FFR).
Thanks to these studies, doctors can evaluate a number of important indicators: the thickness of the vessel wall, the presence of calcification, the degree of vascular patency, etc.
Operation TAVI
Some diseases are accompanied by a narrowing of the lumen of the aortic valve. Doctors call this pathology aortic stenosis. Severe stenosis interferes with normal blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta. This leads to life-threatening conditions and even death.
The modern method of treatment is transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). During the procedure, the surgeon delivers the valve to the heart in a compressed form through the femoral or subclavian artery. In the heart, the valve opens and is replaced by the affected aortic valve. The whole process takes place with ultrasound or X-ray navigation.
Thus, the whole procedure takes place without a single incision on the body. This allows the operation to be performed on patients in serious condition, as well as on elderly people over 85 years of age.
San Donato uses modern biocompatible prostheses: Symetis, Evolut PRO, Portico, Sapien 3.
