Why Might I Need a Cardiac Intervention?

Interventional cardiology is an excellent alternative to invasive cardiac procedures – but it's not for everyone. However, if you experience chest pain or live with certain heart conditions, it's an option that offers various benefits.

Our team specializes in coronary interventions at the Heart Clinic of Hammond in Amite and Hammond, Indiana. Dr. Ghiath Mikdadi and Dr. Farid Zayed are exceptional cardiologists who provide cardiac catheterization and other tools to manage heart disease.

Understanding interventional cardiology

Interventional cardiology is a branch of medicine that focuses on fixing heart problems with small catheters. The treatments are nonsurgical and offer many benefits to invasive procedures like open heart surgery.

We utilize thin, hollow catheters to access the blood vessels and heart through a small incision in the skin. The catheter glides into one of the arteries that feed oxygenated blood to the body.

Once the catheter is in the artery, we perform sophisticated imaging and repairs for issues related to heart disease. It offers various benefits over medications alone or open heart surgery. These benefits include:

• Minimal pain
• Lower risk of complications
• Faster recovery
• Reduced rate of heart attacks
• Minimal scarring

One of the main reasons we use interventional cardiology is for coronary artery disease. We can remove excess fat and compress plaque inside the arterial walls through a small catheter. It helps prevent complications like a heart attack from occurring.

What signs indicate a need for cardiac intervention?

Not everyone with heart problems is a candidate for cardiac intervention, but it helps millions. Specific signs and symptoms warrant a consultation for cardiac intervention, and they include:

• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations

Experiencing any of the above symptoms with jaw, arm, or neck pain could indicate a cardiac problem. These symptoms are signs of heart trouble and warrant a trip to the emergency room for evaluation.

We have to get to the root cause of the symptoms before taking you in for cardiac intervention procedures. Not everyone with chest pain needs coronary intervention procedures. We often perform EKGs, stress tests, and other imaging studies to determine whether you could benefit from coronary intervention.

Conditions that benefit from cardiac intervention

Living with heart disease is scary, but rest easy knowing that cardiac intervention procedures are highly successful. Many people can benefit from cardiac intervention, especially those living with:

Blocked arteries

Plaque builds up in the arteries, especially with coronary artery disease. It can break off and lead to a heart attack, which is where coronary intervention procedures help. We compress or remove the plaque to keep it stable and prevent complications.

Congenital heart disease

Living with a congenital heart disease as an adult may produce arrhythmias and other symptoms. We can diagnose and fix problems from adult congenital heart disease through interventional cardiology.

Abnormal heart rhythms

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a common but dangerous heart rhythm that we treat through cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology. If you're having bothersome symptoms or are at risk for stroke, we offer coronary intervention strategies.

Heart valve disease

Specific heart valve diseases respond effectively to coronary intervention. If you have mitral valve stenosis, aortic valve regurgitation, or tricuspid valve regurgitation, you may be a candidate for coronary intervention.

Heart failure

Living with heart failure also makes you a candidate for coronary intervention. We use the catheter to improve blood flow to the heart and alleviate bothersome symptoms of congestive heart failure (CHF).

Call the Heart Clinic of Hammond team today to schedule a coronary intervention consultation, or request a consultation on our website.