Invasive cardiovascular procedures are tests or treatments that require something (catheter, needle, etc.) to be inserted into the body to perform a diagnostic test or to treat a disease or condition found from a diagnostic test. Because the procedures are invasive, they are performed by highly trained specialists.

Some of the procedures we perform include:

• Angiography – This is an X-ray exam of the blood vessels when they are filled with a contrast material. This procedure is performed to help doctors identify diseased, narrowed, enlarged and blocked blood vessels, and to determine where internal bleeding may be occurring.

• Coronary Angioplasty – A catheter carrying a balloon is inserted through an artery in the groin or arm into a blocked artery in the heart. The balloon is quickly inflated and deflated to open the artery to improve blood flow. Sometimes a stent – which is a mesh, metal tube – is implanted within the artery to keep it open after an angioplasty procedure.
• Cardioversion – This delivers an electric shock to the chest via electrodes or paddles in order to correct a dangerous heart dysrhythmia, which is an abnormality of the heartbeat that may be faster than normal.
• Cryoablation – This procedure uses extreme cold to destroy tissue where the arrhythmia originates.
• Electrophysiology (EP) study with or without ablation – An EP study is a procedure that examines the heart’s electrical activity and pathways. Radiofrequency ablation is a procedure that uses heat to destroy abnormal electrical pathways in the heart.
• Heart Failure Implantable Monitor – This wireless heart failure monitor system is implanted by the cardiologist in the pulmonary artery to measure pulmonary wedge pressure, which is the best indicator for worsening heart failure. The monitor has been proven to significantly reduce heart failure hospitalizations and improve quality of life.
• Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) – This device is implanted in the chest to continuously monitor the heart’s rhythm and provides therapy when life-threatening arrhythmia is detected. It also includes a pacemaker element to restore a normal heart rate.
• Intravascular Ultrasound – This imaging procedure passes sound waves from an ultrasound probe mounted on a catheter into the blood vessel to help determine the severity and type of blockage in the blood vessel. This is usually done in conjunction with a cardiac catheterization and angioplasty.
• Pacemaker Insertion – This small, battery-operated device helps maintain a normal heartbeat by sending electrical impulses to the heart.
• Percutaneous Peripheral Vascular Intervention – This minimally invasive procedure is performed through a skin puncture, usually in the groin, to treat peripheral arterial disease which occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to your head, organs and limbs.
• Transesophageal Echocardiography – This imaging procedure passes sound waves from an ultrasound probe in the esophagus to provide clearer images of the heart.