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Cardiac Catheterization

At the Wisconsin Heart Hospital, cardiac and other specialists are supported by highly experienced, specially-trained nurses and staff. Innovative and cutting-edge technologies help physicians deliver the best care and outcomes to their patients. Physicians who pioneered ground-breaking heart procedures in southeastern Wisconsin designed our 60-bed facility. All of this combines to empower our physicians to practice medicine at its finest and deliver a new standard in heart care.

Coronary Angioplasty and Stenting

Angioplasty, also known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), is a procedure in which a narrowed section of the coronary artery is dilated with a balloon catheter. Angioplasty is less invasive and has a shorter recovery time than bypass surgery, which is also done to increase blood flow to the heart muscle but requires open-heart surgery. Most of the time stents are placed during angioplasty.

After sedation, a thin flexible tube, or catheter, is inserted through an artery in the groin or arm and carefully guided up the aorta into the blocked coronary artery. Cardiac catheterization, also called coronary angiography, is performed first to identify any blockages.

Specialty Procedures: PFO, ASD Closure

An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a type of congenital heart defect in which a hole occurs between the heart's upper chambers, or atria. The hole allows blood to seep from the left atrium to the right atrium, which results in too much blood flow to the right side of the heart and lungs. The more blood that is diverted to the right side of the heart, the harder the lungs and right ventricle must work to compensate for the problem.

ASD's and secundum ASD's have been treated with a catheter-based closure technique. In one such procedure, a septal occluder (a type of elastic catheter made of flexible wire) is fed through an artery, all the way to the heart. There, it is guided into the septal hole. Once in place, it is expanded to lie across the defect and seal it.

In another catheter-based procedure, a clamshell or umbrella device is opened inside the heart to block the hole. By using a catheter instead of opening up the chest through surgery, patients face much less trauma and pain. They can leave the hospital sooner and the chance of scarring is greatly reduced.