Surgery for coronary heart disease

Cardiac catheterization is used to treat patients with coronary heart disease and/or heart attack. If the coronary arteries are affected by stenosis (narrowing), they can be widened using special inflatable balloon catheters. A widened artery can then be stabilized using a stent.

Cardiogenic shock or acute heart failure can represent a life-threatening situation that requires immediate circulatory support. The intra-aortic balloon pump can save the patient's life by providing temporary support to the heart.

Heart attacks usually develop as a result of coronary artery disease. If changes to a blood vessel lead to dissection, i.e. a tear in the inner wall of the vessel, platelet aggregation (clotting) is activated, which leads to the vessel becoming blocked.

Up to a third of patients who undergo cardiac catheterization have chronic occlusions (blockages) in the coronary arteries.

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is used to treat coronary artery stenosis. The use of bare metal stents is mainly reserved for large blood vessels, or when the patient is already receiving anticoagulants for a separate condition.

Stent implantation is a procedure used in the treatment of stenotic (narrowed) coronary arteries. In comparison to uncoated, bare metal stents, drug-eluting stents reduce the risk of restenosis occurring in previously treated sections (in-stent restenosis).

If the patient remains symptomatic despite drug-based therapy, coronary artery stenosis can be treated in the catheterization laboratory. In cases where restenosis affects a previously treated section, drug-eluting balloons may offer a further treatment option.

Coronary artery stenosis can occur as a result of the normal aging process in patients with exposure to a number of different risk factors.