After your cardiac diagnostic tests, our doctors might advise Interventional Cardiology procedures. Sometimes, treatment requires a prescription medicine and nothing more. However, some conditions call for more involved measures.
Interventional
Interventional
Interventional Cardiologists in Texas: Procedures
At Texas Cardiology Associates, we strive to make our community healthier. Not only are our physicians well-educated and highly experienced, we offer Interventional Cardiology care that extends beyond exams. At TCAH, we focus on our heightened level of specialization and expertise because it makes a difference. Our experience matters because it helps us provide better results for our patients. With cutting-edge procedures and advanced diagnostics, we help our patients live better, healthier lives.
Cardiac Procedures
Our Houston cardiologists offer an array of comprehensive therapies and procedures to address all cardiac issues. Ranging from heart attacks and strokes to arrhythmias and other heart conditions, we provide advanced Interventional Cardiology care. Your heart health matters to our team, and we can help you improve your quality of life.
Cardiac Catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is an imaging procedure our physicians use to evaluate the presence of disease in the valves, aorta, or coronary artery. Moreover, this procedure helps us evaluate the function of your heart muscle. In turn, we determine whether further treatment is necessary.
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a disease that occurs when a buildup of plaque slows the flow of blood from the heart out to the rest of the body. This plaque that builds up in arteries consists mainly of calcium, cholesterol, fatty substances, and fibrin. The buildup leads to a narrowing and hardening of the arteries, which is known as Atherosclerosis. As arteries narrow, the flow of blood reduces to vital organs and limbs, and they are unable to keep up with the demands of the body.
PAD limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the legs, which often leads to cramping, leg pain, and even ulcers on the toes and feet. Untreated, PAD can lead to gangrene and require amputation.
The board-certified interventional cardiologists at Texas Cardiology Associates Houston provide comprehensive treatments for cardiological conditions, including Peripheral Artery Disease. Our team makes an accurate diagnosis based on your system and works with you to provide a holistic treatment plan. If you are concerned about PAD, contact our nearest office today and schedule a consultation.
CRT: Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Our cardiologists use this therapy to treat delays in contractions of the heart ventricle. Oftentimes, these delays occur in those with advanced heart failure. Your doctor implants a CRT pacing device under the skin in order to improve your heartbeat pace.
Catheter Ablation
Catheter ablation is a treatment we use to address cardiac arrhythmias. In this procedure, your physician inserts a catheter into the heart. A special machine then delivers energy to the smaller areas of the heart muscle, which cause the arrhythmia.
The concept of this Interventional Cardiology procedure centers around the energy as a means to disconnect the path of the abnormal rhythm. Similarly, catheter ablation is a way to disconnect the electrical passages between the upper and lower chambers of your heart.
Coronary Balloon Angioplasty and Stent
In a balloon angioplasty, your physician inserts a catheter with a small balloon at the tip near a narrowed or blocked area of your coronary artery. Oftentimes, this procedure is combined with a stent. A stent is a small metal tube that acts as a support structure inside the artery.
When the stent is in place, the balloon inflates allowing the stent to expand to the size of the artery. As a result, the stent holds the artery open, improving the flow of blood. The stent stays in place as your physician deflates and removes the balloon.
Loop Recorder
An implantable loop recorder (ILR) is a small medical device that records the electrical activity of the heart. Your physician implants the device just below the skin of your chest. Typically, our doctors are able to perform this Interventional Cardiology procedure with local anesthesia.
With this device in place, it records the electrical activity of the heart according to a pre-programmed range set by your doctor. Alternatively, you might have the option to activate it on your own.
A more familiar term in interventional cardiology, a pacemaker sends electrical impulses into the heart muscle. This helps your heart rate stay at a suitable pace. Moreover, it helps to stimulate the ventricles of the heart.
Our doctors might also use pacemakers to treat congestive heart failure, syncope, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Electrical Cardioversion
In electrical cardioversion, an electrical shock converts an irregular or increased heart rhythm into a normal rhythm. During this procedure, your cardiologist uses a cardioverter machine, which sends the energy to the muscle in order to restore a normal rhythm.
Atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation are common irregular rhythms that require this procedure
Pulmonary Vein Ablation
This form of ablation is a specific treatment for atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a type of irregular heart rhythm originating in the top chambers of the heart. In this procedure, your doctor delivers energy into the target area via a catheter.
Your doctor applies the energy in a circular motion around the connection of the upper and lower pulmonary veins of the left atrium.
ICD: Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
This electronic device constantly monitors the rhythm of your heart. Whenever the device detects an irregular rhythm, it delivers energy to the heart muscle. For example, with ventricular tachycardia, you might experience an abnormal heart rhythm. When you do, the device stabilizes the rhythm back to normal.
Remote Device Monitoring
With remote device monitoring, your doctor is able to evaluate your heartbeat over time as you go about your daily life. We use an array of monitors, including Cardiac Event Recorders, Holter Monitors, and Looping Memory Monitors.
Remote monitoring allows us to better serve a broader spectrum of patients across Texas, promoting better heart health in Houston and beyond.
Vascular Procedures
At TCAH, we treat diseases that attack the vascular system, which includes your arteries and veins. From medical therapies and minimally invasive Interventional Cardiology procedures to surgical reconstructions, we determine the appropriate treatment for your heart. Our physicians strive to provide excellence in care based on your individual health, history, and condition.
Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
This form of repair is a surgery that corrects a widened area in the aorta. During this procedure, your doctor makes a small surgical cut around the groin. This is to find the femoral artery, where they insert a stent and a graft.
With imaging equipment, your doctor guides the stent to the target area and opens it to support the area. The stent attaches to the walls of your aorta so that the aneurysm eventually shrinks around it.
Peripheral Angiogram
This test utilizes an X-ray and dye to locate blocked and narrowed areas in the arteries that supply blood flow to your legs. Through this procedure, we decide whether surgery is necessary to open up the arteries.
Carotid Angiography
This invasive X-ray is still considered an Interventional Cardiology procedure and it helps your doctor detect blockages and narrowing in the carotid arteries. Moreover, it helps us determine the level of risk when it comes to strokes.
Your doctor might elect to perform a carotid angiography when they suspect carotid artery disease. Should they discover a blockage, we perform an angioplasty with a stent to support the artery and increase blood flow.
Peripheral Angioplasty - Stent, Atherectomy
Following the angiogram, we evaluate the results to determine the best course of action. A stent is a small metal tube that your doctor places inside an artery during an Interventional Cardiology procedure called an angioplasty. The stent acts as a support structure to improve the flow of blood.
An atherectomy is a minimally invasive procedure that removes atherosclerosis from blood vessels. This procedure is a surgical technique that offers an alternative to an angioplasty.
Carotid Angiography
This invasive X-ray procedure helps your doctor detect blockages and narrowing in the carotid arteries. Moreover, it helps us determine the level of risk when it comes to strokes.
Your doctor might elect to perform a carotid angiography when they suspect carotid artery disease. Should they discover a blockage, we perform an angioplasty with a stent to support the artery and increase blood flow.
Call on Our Texas Interventional Cardiologists
As experts in their field and leading practitioners of interventional cardiology, our doctors strive to address heart health issues in the least invasive way possible. However, when intervention is necessary, you can rely on our physicians to provide excellence in care.
When you feel concerned about your heart health, our Texas cardiologists have the experience and skill you need to lead a healthy life. Call on TCAH today to see how our doctors can help improve your heart health.